After a review of the agencies intake, case management and client housing policies, I would recommend an enterprise system for an operation of this caliber. Because the agency is guided by state and federal regulations and goes through constant changes to its guidelines, it is paramount that the company chooses to build an application capable of developing a system that will have changing requirements and deliver the system or parts in a timely manner. My recommendation is to use a company that understands the intricacies of Extreme Programming, as it is one of the more efficient methods used for software development.
Extreme Programming is a software development methodology grounded in values of simplicity, communication and feedback. One of several popular Agile Processes, the Extreme Programing development style can be traced as far back as 196. The success of this process can be attributed to its emphasis on team work, a group consisting of managers, business experts and developers who are equal partners in the project and work collaboratively to develop an application. (Withrow) It is not inconceivable for a brilliant programmer to plan, code and deliver an application that meets the requirements of the agency, but the application may not be delivered in a timely manner due.
A group of programmers working cooperatively as a self-disciplined and self-organized team can accomplish the same tasks as an individual programmer, but with faster results.
An equal and contributing part of the team, the business expert is an integral member. The traditional development cycle allows for the developer to make all decisions regarding reducing scope of the project as the delivery deadline approaches; however, with the Extreme Programming model the business expert makes scope decisions a little at a time throughout the cycle (Cummings, 2009).
One of the greatest challenges with traditional software development is changing requirem...