The Requirements of Methodologies for Developing Web Applications

The Internet has had a significant impact on the process of developing information systems. However, there has been little research that has examined specifically the role of development methodologies in this new era. Although there are many new forces driving systems development many other issues are extensions of problems that have been there for some years. This paper identifies the main requirements of methodologies for developing Web applications. To achieve this objective a methodology is proposed which attempts to address a number of issues identified within the literature. The Internet Commerce Development Methodology (ICDM) considers evolutionary development of systems, provides a business and strategic focus and includes a management structure in addition to covering the engineering aspects of Web application development. The methodology is compared with several other Web development methodologies. ICDM differs in that it provides a framework for developing an e-business strategy, incorporates a management structure, procedures for customer involvement and provides guidelines on developing a conducive organisational culture. Evaluation of the method highlighted that practitioners would ideally like methodologies to be relevant to their industry and provide detailed guidelines on changing organisational culture.