Resumen
It is informed that as software becomes more ubiquitous in products and on the Internet, so does the need to develop it. It is estimated that by 2005 in the U.S. alone, there will be 55 million end-user developers compared to 2.75 million professional software developers. End-user development (EUD) is about taking control. EUD covers a wide area of interests ranging from customizing applications by inputting parameters or style sheets, to controlling a complex device, to writing code and scripting interactive Web sites. Several technical, managerial, and social challenges must be solved to make EUD tools easier to use. Controlling and promoting EUD has been a management challenge for years. Indeed, the critical issues involve motivating end users to adopt the technology, controlling development to minimize risks, creating maintainable software, and eliminating inaccurate and contradictory information. The tension between quality assurance and design freedom will always color advances in EUD, but new approaches are emerging.