Computer information system development methodologies - a comparative analysis

A computer information system is one of the main constructs through which a business firm gains a competitive edge over its competitors. Unfortunately, after four decades of effort by computer scientists and management specialists, ideal methodologies of CIS development are still lacking. The purpose of this paper is to conduct a comparative analysis of CIS development methodologies, trace their historical evolution, and develop integrated methodologies which can be used for logical system design and physical implementation. During the past four decades, CIS development methodologies concentrated on structured methods which are efficient for small systems, but they will soon be overwhelmed by complex and large systems. Only recently, fourth generation languages and automatic design techniques have begun to emerge as driving forces in CIS development. This paper tries to integrate these new technologies into a unified whole for CIS development. It will not only be used for transactional processing, but also for office automation and decision support.1