A JAD session - short for Joint Application Development session - is a structured meeting that brings together business users, developers, and analysts to collaboratively define system requirements or design solutions. It’s particularly useful during the early stages of a software project.
JAD was a response to slow and error-prone traditional methods of gathering system requirements going way back to the 1970s, a methodology developed at IBM by Chuck Morris and Tony Crawford.
SSADM - Structured Systems Analysis and Design Method - dates back to the early 1980s. It was developed under contract to the UK government’s Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA) as a standardised method for analysing and designing information systems.
By the mid 1990s, SSADM was on the way out due to the rise of RAD (Rapid Application Development), Agile, and object-oriented methods.
Object-Oriented Methods (OOM) are a way of designing and building software systems based on the concept of “objects”. These are self-contained units that combine data and behaviour, an approach mirrors the way we understand real-world entities like a car, a user, or a booking.. each has its own characteristics and actions.
An object has
- Attributes (data/state) — e.g., a User has a name, email, password.
- Methods (behaviour) — e.g., a User can log in, edit a profile, make a booking.
- Objects belong to classes, which are like blueprints for creating multiple similar objects. User gives hosts and guests.
🔍 What Happens in a JAD Session?
- Facilitated workshop, often lasting several hours to a few days
- Focused on rapid consensus-building
- Participants work through use cases, data flows, interfaces, or UI mockups
- Typically led by a facilitator, with a scribe, users, and technical experts
🧩 Typical Roles in a JAD Session
| Role | Responsibility |
|---|---|
| Facilitator | Guides the discussion, ensures all voices are heard |
| Scribe | Takes detailed notes, records decisions and diagrams |
| Business Users | Share domain knowledge, describe real-world processes |
| Developers | Ask clarifying questions, assess technical feasibility |
| Analysts | Translate discussion into models, user stories, or specs |
✅ Advantages
- Cuts down on back-and-forth emails
- Produces a shared understanding of goals
- Captures accurate, detailed requirements
- Increases buy-in from all stakeholders
📌 Use Case for Rentals
If rhe team were all co-located or online for a few hours, it would be possible to run a JAD session to:
- Finalise feature priorities for the MVP
- Walk through the booking flow from a user's perspective
- Agree on UI elements based on tester feedback
- Tackle tricky areas like deposit handling or ICal sync
Here's a JAD session agenda or template for the team.
📌 JAD session agenda
- 🎯 Purpose: Finalise MVP features, align design + functionality Participants: •
Facilitator: Project lead analyst • Developers: [Insert Names] • Testers / Users: [Insert Names]
Session Agenda:
1. Welcome + Goals Overview (10 min)
2. Review of Core User Flows (20 min)
3. Feature Prioritisation Discussion (20 min)
4. UI/UX Walkthrough with Feedback (20 min)
5. Issue Resolution and Open Questions (15 min)
6. Wrap-up + Action Plan (5 min)
[End]
