Examing the Process of Electronic-JAD

Abstract

Manuscript originally submitted September 22, 1993; Revised April 13, 1994; Accepted June 8, 1994 for publication. One of the leading methodologies for user involvement and user participation in the system development process is called JAD. JAD (Joint Application Development) involves users in a series of structured meetings which, traditionally, have benefitted from little explicit computer support. Yet, given the highly structured nature of JAD meetings, and the prominent role of the JAD facilitator, it appears that JAD meetings have the potential to benefit from additional computer support. Our research question is how and whether JAD can benefit from computer support in the form of Electronic Meeting Systems (EMS)(See Figures 1 and 2). The study we conducted to investigate this question can be classified as descriptive, as there is no theory of JAD and no overarching theory of EMS. Dubin (1978) argues that “...there is a fundamental place for accurate description in any science. Description...provides the input for developing units of a theory, its laws of interaction, the system states, and the boundaries of the model (p. 219).” Our findings are a starting point for the development of a theory of meetings, supported by computing and not, that includes structured processes like JAD. Our study also has practical implications — similar to those of Olson and Olson (1991) — for identifying opportunities for successful computer support. We begin with a literature review of the intersecting methodologies and technologies, describe our field study approach, and discuss our observations of JAD sessions for four broad process-related areas of interest.