Future Systems Development: Limits on Vision

Abstract

What we know about the rationale for the requirements for the new design is limited by the imperfect understanding of the current system and our inability to divorce ourselves from that past. This provides the basis for a conundrum. How can we become sufficiently knowledgeable and avoid the biases inherent in the process of acquiring that knowledge simultaneously? Consider carefully the lessons of history and evaluate whether the legacy of the previous system and its predecessors accelerates or retards progress toward the future. To capitalize on our experience we need to recognize facts and mythology in our understanding of the way things are and need to be. The most important question to ask is “Why?”. Without a true understanding of why, we can't develop effective, user-centered alternatives to the current system and our efforts will reduce to mere technology replacement.