The team consists of a mixture of skills from a variety of individuals. Netmation can help provide some of these individuals to help facilitate the JAD process. Typical areas where Netmation can provide the greatest benefit is in the area of JAD Facilitator, Information Specialists and Scribe's.

JAD Facilitator
The JAD facilitator is the key person in the team and is responsible for the planning, execution and managing the project. Choosing a facilitator is the first important step. He /she should be a respected, skillful leader with a good reputation within the organization. JAD facilitator skills do not happen by chance and the skills may have to be learnt. JAD experience is also necessary. It is not a position for to be entered into lightly and not for the faint-hearted. Choosing a poor JAD facilitator may mean the difference between a good project and a poor one.

It is essential that the facilitator be given the authority as well as the responsibility and will work closely with the Management sponsor to achieve the objectives of the JAD project. The facilitator will know how to handle people, to be able to get the best out of them.

Management Sponsor
For any computer project to succeed will require the backing of management. It is very important for the JAD team to have a management sponsor. The person may be a divisional head or manager of the business area that the JAD project is addressing. The sponsor does not have to actively participate in every JAD session. It might be advisable to attend the first and perhaps the final JAD session to review the results and make comments. The sponsor should be available throughout the period of the JAD development to solve any serious problems or issues that may arise. The JAD facilitator will work closely with the management sponsor and be kept fully briefed on progress. The sponsor can be from the end user community but also equally it may be CIO or an End user Vice President.

Information Specialists
Information specialists are there to assist the end users and develop a design according to the end users' needs. Under the direction of the JAD facilitator, Information specialists after discussing the requirements will need to create prototypes. So detailed knowledge is required of prototyping software.

They can also advise end users on new technology or hardware that can assist in the technical implementation. They need to understand the organization and the business area involved. Information specialists should be good listeners and be able to empathize with end users. Experienced systems analysts who can use software have been excellent in this role.

Scribe
The scribe has a particularly important role in the JAD team. He/she is responsible for documenting the JAD sessions. This most be done in an interactive fashion and the scribe must work closely with the JAD facilitator. Many ideas, suggestions will be discussed. The scribe must learn to capture the important decisions made, who made them and why. It is a record of the what was discussed. Because of the skill need to process this information laptop computers are particularly useful as they are portable.

During JAD sessions it important to encourage end users to call on the scribe to "make sure that point is documented". The scribe does not have to be a DP person but requires a logical approach to handling documentation. It is the responsibility of the scribe to distribute the documentation at the end of each JAD session. It is a difficult task and not to be underestimated.

End Users
The role of end users in designing and agreeing systems is now widely accepted as essential to its ultimate success. Without end user involvement JAD will not succeed. The whole point of JAD is to bring end users and Data Processing people together in a structured environment.

End users rapidly gain a sense of involvement and ownership in systems where JAD is used. This is vital to its overall success. Most important, end users get the system they want, not one which has been designed frequently so poorly for them.

End users will invest the time and effort when they can see positive results. We must at all costs avoid the catastrophic projects of the past with cost and budget overruns that are the fuel of the Data Processing managers' worst nightmares. Almost without exception every Data Processing department has at least one example of a software horror story. In the future if we embrace, sound practical techniques like JAD then these stories will become distant memories.

Summary
We know that human performance for solving a task is directly related to how a task is UNDERSTOOD by the people attempting to solve it. If we concentrate on techniques to increase the understanding we shall increase our performance. Also performance is influenced by personality and intelligence. We can do something about intelligence by providing training. Changing a personality is much more difficult.

When JAD is introduced motivation and performance improve dramatically. Because JAD focuses on analyzing the task and providing a solution, it has benefits in performance and motivation of the individuals taking part. This is due to the following factors.

• Being involved in the detailed planning
• Group dynamics
• Obtaining results
• Solving problems for other people

A major advantage of the JAD approach is that it allows for the simultaneous gathering and consolidating of large amounts of information. Moreover, discrepancies are resolved immediately with the aid of the facilitator. They can also provide useful information for the Work Process Improvement efforts.