PROJECT LEADERER/manager: Generally the leader of the application development team answers questions about the project regarding scope, time, coordination issues and resources. They may contribute to the sessions as long as they do not inhibit the participants.
FACILITATOR/SESSION LEADER: Chairs the meeting and directs traffic by keeping the group on the meeting agenda. The facilitator is responsible for identifying those issues that can be solved as part of the meeting and those which need to be assigned at the end of the meeting for follow-up investigation and resolution. The facilitator serves the participants and does not contribute information to the meeting.
SCRIBE/MODELER/Recorder/Documentation Expert: Records and publish the proceedings of the meeting and does not contribute information to the meeting.
PARTICIPANTS: Customers in the business area directly or indirectly being affected by this project, who are experts in their field and can make decisions about their work. They are the source of the input to the session.
OBSERVERS: Generally members of the application development team assigned to the project. They are to sit behind the participants and are to silently observe the proceedings.
Guidelines for Successful JAD
Researchers and practitioners not only recognize a similar list of JAD components, their lists of guidelines for successful JAD sessions have many commonalities too. Not all JADs are successful, some are even disastrous.[23] These guidelines are based on research results and personal experiences and are given to avoid failures. They represent the critical success factors and they are to be followed carefully. These guidelines are summarized below:
* Use experienced and skilled facilitators * Get Executive Sponsor’s commitment and support * Get the right people to participate, predefine their roles and responsibilities * Set clear defined, well understood and obtainable goals or objectives * Plan detailed agenda and stick with it * Define deliverables clearly in advance * Keep Technical Jargon to a Minimum * Produce Final Document Quickly
Benefits
If the above guidelines are followed closely, chances are, the JAD will be successful. A successful JAD session should provide these benefits:
Reduced system development time. In JAD, information can be obtained and validated in a shorter time frame by involving all participants (or at least a representative set of participants) who have a stake in the outcome of the session.[20] JAD eliminates process delays and has been shown to reduce application development time between 20% to 50%. [18,26]
Improved system quality and productivity. Much of the system’s quality depends on the requirements gathered. JAD involves users in the development life cycle, lets users define their requirements, thus ensures that the system developed satisfies the actual activities of the business.[7, 27] JAD is quoted the best method for collecting requirements from the users, customers, or customer advocates.
Reduced system cost. Much of the system development cost is in terms of man-hours of both system developers and business users involved. Reduced development
