Surveys indicate that the major reasons for software development project failure are:

• An incomplete definition of requirements.
• A lack of user involvement.
• A lack of resources.
• Unrealistic expectations.
• Changing requirements and specifications.

None of the above reasons refer to software languages, technologies or hardware platforms, but rather to methodologies for determining:

• What is desired.
• What is needed.
• What is possible.
• Who knows.
• Who decides.

A methodology that can elicit this information at the beginning of a project and keep addressing it throughout and after a project is critical to the success of that project. Without such a methodology, the project will be at great risk. For this reason, ViaData developed the Catalyst™ prototyping and development platform.