This paper contributes to the literature on information systems development life cycle (SDLC) by presenting an enhanced SDLC model, which integrated three interdependent and complementary, but different SDLCs. It is based on integration of the traditional and well-established idea of custom development with package development and commercially off the shelf (COTS) selection and implementation. Package development includes all software made for a market, whereas COTS selection and implementation refers to the selection and implementation of package software. Although there are many similarities between the life cycles, many differences are important to understand. We highlight both the differences and the intersection between the life cycles and outline an integrated SDLC model, which will be used to discuss future research and curricula issues.

In recent years the Swedish Police Force (SPF) have encountered greater demands on availability and 24/7 services when dealing with errands that are regarded as low priority compared to regular police work, e.g. collecting tips from the public. One attempt to meet these increasing demands was the development of a mobile communications platform that allowed the public to communicate easily with the SPF using their own mobile phones by sending SMS and MMS. The focus of this paper is on the early phases of development of this m-service, in particular, on the specific technical issues such as interoperability and standards used by the actors on the scene affecting the development of mobile information systems. The learning experiences are as follows: First, mobile communication platforms have a large potential for contributing to the field of emergency management information systems since they can be based on open and nationally accepted standards. Second, global and national standards for sending multimedia messages are not always truly standardized. Operators and mobile phone manufacturers make minor alterations and interpretations of the standard and thereby some of the benefits found in standards disappear. Third, when developing mobile information systems we suggest and recommend that the analysis phase should be enhanced compared to traditional system development, and it should address the interoperability between mobile phones on one hand and operators on the other hand.