Clarifying the relationships between information technology (IT), organizational performance, and decision structure remains an important area of inquiry in IS research. Through an empirical analysis and complementary case examples, our study examines the

There is a growing trend to develop Information Systems (IS) using rapid development tools and methods rather than using traditional analysis and specification methods. Some writers have warned of a return to an undisciplined style of systems development. This paper uses the discipline of ‘requirements engineering’ to validate the use of Rapid Application Development (RAD) techniques in identifying and responding to users’ requirements for IS. It argues that traditional systems analysis depended on identifying explicit requirements that could be verbalized; many new IS, however, depend on identifying different forms of knowledge and requirements. Techniques employed by RAD are eminently suited to eliciting these requirements. The paper is founded in part on two empirical studies, which are viewed through a theoretical filter based on a framework from ‘requirements engineering’.