Book excerpt: Through the material, readers are given the ability to analyze systematically a potential area of need - such as a function in a department - to determine whether a computer application might help to assess the costs and benefits of alternative proposals and to proceed from that analysis to a clear specification for what the proposed solution should accomplish. There is also coverage of how computer professionals evaluate hardware and design the software and systems that will implement a given application. Furthermore, readers will learn how to manage the people, resources, time, and money required in the development process for creating a given application program or for adapting a package application to the needs specified in the design.