INCOME/STAR-ProMISE: Process-centered Information System Development

1 Process-centered Information System Development In process-centered development environments, the software development process is automatically guided and supported by a process model. In this context, a process model can be defined as a formal, executable description of the development process in terms of activities and results (documents). Traditionally, process models like the well-known waterfall-model and its variants reflect the software life cycle with its different stages: software projects are broken down into a sequence of successive stages. The results of one stage serve as input for the following stage. Each stage is connected to the preceding one by a feedback loop. Criticism of stagewise process models mainly addressed the following aspects: Lack of flexibility: Requirements change frequently due to market factors, new technologies or strategical decisions. Hence, software development is a highly dynamic process which should not be rigorously separated in stages. Neglect of maintenance: In spite of the well-known fact that the maintenance phase normally is the longest and most expensive period in a software life cycle, stagewise process models regard it as a kind of appendix of the preceding development stages. Lack of attention for human factors: Many problems in the software development field arise from communication problems between developers and future users of a system. This is a point where stagewise models have some of their most important drawbacks as they do not provide facilities for user integration.