This Prototype Is All Wet It can be changed. It's not a finished product, remember," affirms Sandy Beach, a systems analyst for RainFall, a large manufacturer of fiberglass bathtub and shower enclosures for bathrooms. Beach is anxiously reassuring Will Lather, a production scheduler for RainFall, who is poring over the first hard-copy output produced for him by the prototype of the new information system. Well, it's okay, Lather says quietly. I wouldn't want to bother you with anything. Let's see, ... yes, here they are, he says as he finally locates the monthly report summarizing raw materials purchased, raw materials used, and raw materials in inventory. Lather continues paging through the unwieldy computer printout. This will be fine. Pausing at a report, he remarks, I'll just have Miss Fawcett copy this part for the people in Accounting. Turning a few more pages, he says, And the guy in Quality Assurance should really see this column of figures, although the rest of it isn't of much interest to him. I'll circle it and make a copy of it for him. Maybe I should phone part of this in to the warehouse, too. As Sandy prepares to leave, Lather bundles up the pages of the reports, commenting, The new system will be a big help. I'll make sure everybody knows about it. Anything will be better than the old monster' anyway. I'm glad we've got something new. Sandy leaves Will Lather's office feeling a little lost at sea. Thinking it over, he starts wondering why Accounting, Quality Assurance, and the warehouse aren't getting what Will thinks they should. Sandy phones a few people, and he confirms that what Lather has told him is true. They need the reports and they're not getting them. Later in the week Sandy approaches Lather about rerouting the output as well as changing some of the features of the system. These modifications would allow Lather to get onscreen answers regarding what-if scenarios about changes in the prices suppliers are charging or changes in the quality rating of the raw materials available from suppliers (or both), as well as allow him to see what would happen if a shipment was late. Lather is visibly upset with Sandy's suggestions for altering the prototype and its output. Oh, don't do it on my account. It's okay really. I don't mind taking the responsibility for routing information to people. I'm always showering them with stuff anyway. Really, this is working pretty well. I would hate to have you take it away from us at this point. Let's just leave it in place. Sandy is pleased that Lather seems so satisfied with the prototyped output, but he is concerned about Lather's unwillingness to change the prototype, because he has been encouraging users to think of it as an evolving product, not a finished one. a