Can one program 'do it all'?

As our ministry of education moves towards replacing our provincial Student Information System, BCeSIS, they have put out an RFP for an expert to give them advice. They want a new SIS that will not only meet today's needs, but also the needs 21st century education. While this is not defined, they do include this description: "personalized student learning plans, irregular periods of registration and completion, and intensive collaboration and communication among teachers, students and parents".

All the SIS I have used (as are the schools that use them) are built around the basic structure of a school year. For secondary schools they are further built around semesters, terms and timetables of classes meeting at specific times in specific places. Individual students come later, being force-fit into those structures. I can also imagine a different type of SIS, centered around individual students, with learning plans, irregularly scheduled activities and the services of various staff associated with that student. What I have difficulty imagining is a single SIS that does BOTH. And I have even more difficulty imagining a system that does BOTH WELL. I hope this is just a matter of my lack of imagination.

My concern is that as we attempt to meet the needs of schools at both ends of the spectrum we may arrive at a system that does nothing very well. Can a computer program meet all needs well?

This is related to my previous two posts. If we decide to design our own 'made in B.C.' solution there is the danger that it will be driven by the myriad needs of the end users, generating a long list of 'features' the system must accomodate. Such lists of requirements are likely to lead to the assumption that any program meeting all the requirements is a good program. That 'assumption of goodness' is incorrect, as a program may meet the requirements and yet be counter-intuitive, difficult to use and frustrating for all.

Maybe one program can meet all needs, but we shouldn't assume so. And we should ensure that whatever it does, it does it well.