Applying a Framework for Software Development Methods in an Information Systems Curriculum

Authors

Mary J. Granger, George Washington University
Ross A. Malaga, Ogden Government Service

Abstract

Software developers are constantly exploring new software development methods that are timely and cost effective, and also foster productivity and better quality systems. "A Software Development Method (SDM) is a system of technical procedures and notational conventions for the organized construction of software" [Karam and Casselman p. 34]. Karam and Casselman [1] provide a framework for evaluating SDMs within an organization. There are 14 technical properties, 5 usage properties and 2 managerial properties. Is this framework viable for cataloging SDMs in an academic setting, thereby providing guidelines for selecting an appropriate software development methodology for an Information Systems curriculum? The main purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the use of a cataloging framework for SDMs within a business Information Systems curriculum. Information Engineering (IE) and Software Engineering (SE) are SDMs used to illustrate the usage of framework. The framework can be expanded to include additional SDMs. The Washington Post (February 24, 1993) forecasts a 78% increase in the demand for system analysts within the next 10 years. It is important for Information Systems' graduates to know state of the art techniques, and therefore, courses must constantly be updated to meet this demand.

Recommended Citation

Granger, Mary J. and Malaga, Ross A. (1994) "Applying a Framework for Software Development Methods in an Information Systems Curriculum," Journal of Information Systems Education: Vol. 6 : Iss. 3 , 148-154.
Available at: https://aisel.aisnet.org/jise/vol6/iss3/4