Program Development
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Overview of the Program Development Cycle
Over two-thirds of your text is dedicated to explaining how to implement the steps in the copyrighted Program Development Cycle. Some instructors will introduce the steps to the overall cycle and then proceed through the book as they choose introducing a variety of techniques for implementing each step. Other will assign you to read this overview as a mean for introducing the cycle. As you read this chapter, remember there is much more detail in the text about how to actually implement each step. In 1985 Carpenter and Howe introduced the notion that there is a cycle to developing successful programs. This notion of a cycle has been developed by other authors including Farrell and Lundegren (1991), Rossman (1989), and others. During the development of a cycle for programming, the number of steps increased. We believe the Program Development Cycle included in your text cumulates the work in this area. A diagram of the steps included in program development and the order they occur are included in the 5th edition of the book on pages 98 and 99—the Program Development Cycle (a smaller version is included below). The cycle includes four major stages and nine specific steps. Before explaining the cycle, we want to comment on the actual nature of program development. Although the diagrammatic representation of the cycle gives the illusion that planning a program is a linear, sequential process, in reality it is an iterative, interactive process requiring continued recycling of these steps until an operational program plan is completed. Programs are developed through trial and error methods of implementation that continue until a suitable program design is developed. It is unusual for a perfect program to be planned and implemented. The notion that perfect planning must occur before implementing a program is a myth that is perpetuated in the literature. Peters and
Overview of the Program Development Cycle
Over two-thirds of your text is dedicated to explaining how to implement the steps in the copyrighted Program Development Cycle. Some instructors will introduce the steps to the overall cycle and then proceed through the book as they choose introducing a variety of techniques for implementing each step. Other will assign you to read this overview as a mean for introducing the cycle. As you read this chapter, remember there is much more detail in the text about how to actually implement each step. In 1985 Carpenter and Howe introduced the notion that there is a cycle to developing successful programs. This notion of a cycle has been developed by other authors including Farrell and Lundegren (1991), Rossman (1989), and others. During the development of a cycle for programming, the number of steps increased. We believe the Program Development Cycle included in your text cumulates the work in this area. A diagram of the steps included in program development and the order they occur are included in the 5th edition of the book on pages 98 and 99—the Program Development Cycle (a smaller version is included below). The cycle includes four major stages and nine specific steps. Before explaining the cycle, we want to comment on the actual nature of program development. Although the diagrammatic representation of the cycle gives the illusion that planning a program is a linear, sequential process, in reality it is an iterative, interactive process requiring continued recycling of these steps until an operational program plan is completed. Programs are developed through trial and error methods of implementation that continue until a suitable program design is developed. It is unusual for a perfect program to be planned and implemented. The notion that perfect planning must occur before implementing a program is a myth that is perpetuated in the literature. Peters and
References: Carpenter, G.M., and C.Z. Howe. 1985. Programming leisure experiences: a cyclical approach. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Farrell, P. and Lundegren, H. M. (1991). The process of recreation programming: theory and technique (3rd ed.). State College, PA: Venture Publishing. Peters, T.J., and R.H. Waterman, Jr. 1982. In search of excellence: lessons from America’s best run companies. New York: Harper & Row. Pfeffer, J., and G.R. Salancik. 1978. The External Control of Organizations: A resource dependence perspective. New York: Harper & Row. Rossman, J. R. (1989). Recreation programming: designing leisure experiences. Champaign, IL: Sagamore Publishing.