Chris Carne’s research while affiliated with University of Wales and other places

Users or consumers have become increasingly prominent in sociological work on technology - as in the social sciences generally. This paper takes up and extends arguments developed by Steve Woolgar about how producers of technology 'configure the user'. Rapid Application Development (RAD) is a recent technology (or methodology) for computer system development which emphasizes extensive user involvement throughout the development process. Drawing on ethnographic research of RAD, the paper develops four arguments. First, that decoding (by users) as well as encoding (by producers) is important for understanding technology production. Second, that designers configure users but they, in turn, are configured both from within their own organizations, and by users. Third, that the boundary between user and designer is fluid and, indeed, configured. Finally, it develops the case for an extended actor-network approach which encompasses users or consumption.

Rapid application development (RAD) is an approach to information systems (IS) development which is much discussed in the practitioner literature. However, there is comparatively little research data on this topic. This paper forms a report of the results of a multi-disciplinary research project which has been studying this development approach for the last three years. The paper discusses seven case studies of RAD projects and compares each to issues relating to a number of RAD principles as represented in methodologies such as the recent open standard known as dynamic systems development method. We conclude with a discussion of a number of important questions relating to further research on RAD.