An investigation into the planning, organisation and control of rapid software development and prototyping

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Wolverhampton for the degree of Doctor of PhilosophySoftware development involving prototyping has been widely written about since the early 1980s. This project has been carried out with the intention of investigating the various claims made about it. The first section of the research examines the background to software development and the emergence of alternative approaches to carrying it out. It considers the options open to developers and then examines the background and application of prototyping. It reviews the published work (including survey evidence) on the management and control of prototyping and the ways that this can be carried out effectively. The second part of the work evaluates the results of a series of studies that have been carried out. These comprise several developments for systems built for a metal finishing company and also the analysis of using function points measurement in the development of a system for a local authority, in each study prototyping was used as part or all of the development,. The final part of the work proposes a model for controlling the prototyping process. The second part is a quantitative investigation in to the effectiveness of prototyping as part of a RAD style development. The report concludes with overall recommendations and scope for further research