Embryonic approach to the development of information systems

Prototyping in information systems CIS) development has recently shown increased benefits. In principle, the prototyping process provides users with more opportunities to improve their work, to verify that their needs are provided for, and that the terms used in the interface of the designed system are consistent with those in use in their work. As a result, they should be highly motivated to participate in an IS development process. However, certain drawbacks inherited from traditional prototyping in industrial production could limit the use of this approach in IS development. Some problems are identified in this paper, such as: (1) product-oriented thinking; (2) feedback delay; (3) the preoccupation of designers with respect to the experimental approach; (4) problems arising from the users' participation being indirect, and (5) negative attitudes towards contradiction. This paper proposes an organic approach, the 'Embryonic Approach' (EmA), in order to explore the full potentialities of prototyping in IS development. This approach is based on two fundamental elements; an adaptive and expandable kernel-structure, and a built-in communication mechanism. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.