ADaPT: Adaptive Development and Prototyping Technique

Abstract

Adaptive prototyping focuses on developing software for rapidly changing environments while improving delivery speed. Traditional methodologies are not effective in highly volatile environments; thus, agile methodologies have gained acceptance recently. Although agile methodologies offer less bureaucratic software processes, they fail to adequately support requirements engineering best practices. Adaptive prototyping provides a balance between heavy and ad hoc processes, aims to eliminate the drawbacks inherent in Agile Methodologies and traditional prototyping; it also incorporates requirements engineering best practices.

This thesis proposes a methodology, ADaPT (Adaptive Development and Prototyping Technique), which employs scenario analysis to elicit and validate requirements; maintains the spirit of CMM-level 2; iteratively re-examines system requirements; and only documents essential artifacts. Significant emphasis is placed on testing; and acceptance tests are written before implementation. Initial validation efforts, in the form of post-project surveys, suggest that ADaPT can improve system delivery speed and quality. Surveys were administered to three groups: customers, instructors, and students. Customers surveyed agreed that sponsored teams: delivered their system on time, developed a high quality system, and produced useful artifacts. Instructors surveyed strongly agreed that all projects were completed successfully, met course requirements and ensured a highly satisfied customer. The collective application of these techniques appears to improve software quality, reduce software cost, and improve system delivery speed while enforcing requirements engineering best practices as compared with previous experiences in student projects.