10.11 Rapid Application Development (RAD)

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RAD is a valuable tool when used to help users see the “to be” state of a project. I have often found mock-ups of user interfaces and process flows to be extremely beneficial. RAD tools enable developers to quickly create such mock-ups without worrying about how it all works behind the scenes. They can simulate that part using canned data or fabricated results. RAD tools facilitate expectations users will have of an end product. During the design phase, I recommend having SMEs work directly with the design team to create their interfaces—the developers easily modify and build such elements, and there is nothing more satisfying to a user group than saying they got exactly what they wanted in the project design. RAD is discussed a bit more later in this Chapter.

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