Object-Oriented System Development: Will the New Approach Solve Old Problems?

Object-oriented system development is wideley recognized as improving productivity and reducing system maintenance costs. However, existing approaches have not sufficiently addressed the following three questions which are equally important to users and researchers. Firstly, what are the benefits of object-oriented system development compared to traditional approaches? Secondly, what are the essential features of an objectoriented life cycle model to fulfill the benefits of object-oriented development? And thirdly, what are the pitfalls of object-oriented development and how to cope with them? The paper investigates answers to all three questions in concert.