HANDS-ON PROTOTYPING IN SYSTEM ANALYSIS AND DESIGN
Robert F. Zant · Issues in Information Systems · 2005
The art of prototyping has evolved from the use of pen-and-paper layout charts to being the basis for Evolutionary Prototyping, a full methodology for developing software systems.While prototyping is discussed in introductory systems analysis and design courses, students gain a better appreciation of the technique by actually developing different types of prototypes.For example, prototyping is an excellent vehicle for demonstrating the overlapping of phases in the SDLC.This paper reviews the ways in which prototyping may be used in the system development life cycle and then presents examples of how prototyping can be infused into an undergraduate course in systems analysis and design.Students can develop discovery and user-interface prototypes using HTML and JavaScript modules.The development of functional prototypes using a scripting language and MS Access is also presented.