Chapter 3
Technology has become a necessity in modern life. It seems as if everything you do requires technological interaction. With so many aspects of life depending on ICTs, it only seems natural to have the products meet the end users needs. Developers of software, for example, will find that making a strong model for development at the projects start is absolutely crucial to having a successful product. When the users relay information back to the developers that requires the model to change, there is difficulty in adjusting the program to the new specifications. Often times, there are many things that require modifications that the user does not see. After a product is deployed, if there are any more modifications that need to be made, they are very costly. For this reason, it is very beneficial to have beta testers and direct interaction between the developers and the users.
When ICT-based systems are created, the developers do not know how they will be used. They can predict some uses, but unless they are working with a contract or in-house development, it can be difficult to target the uses when having the first version in mind. When a product development method is used, customization is perfect. This would allow for many different users to have many different uses, yet still be able to use the same program. The beauty of programs like Mozilla's Firefox is that they allow the user to have a product that is fully customizable. If there is some feature that the user wants incorporated directly into the browser, they can get an extension. If no such extension exists, they can write their own because the source code to the program is publicly available.
Not only can miscommunication between the design and use of a program be costly, but it can also be deadly. One such example occurred on July 3, 1988. Iran Air Flight 655 was struck down by the USS Vincennes which resulted in 290 deaths. The
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