Project manager's responsibilities in a prototyping systems analysis and design environment

All industries challenge project managers in different ways. Project managers working in the information systems (IS) industry must understand the problems inherent in the phases comprising a systems development life cycle. This entails understanding the reasons why the final product may not coincide with the users needs. This article examines the processes that enable project managers to successfully realize IS projects. It discusses prototyping as an approach for alleviating the problems inherent in the systems development process and identifies the advantages of using prototyping instead of the traditional development methods. It then lists the project manager's primary activities when realizing development projects and outlines a six-step process for implementing prototyping, a process that involves selecting an appropriate application, identifying basic needs, developing a working model, refining the model and system interface, implementing revisions, and preparing prototype documentation.