Automatic Tools for Designing Office Information Systems: The TODOS Approach

The market for information technology products is rapidly changing from a manufactur­ er-driven market where new products were determined by the evolution of technology, to a user-driven market where users buy only products corresponding exactly to their needs and where competition is very strong. Confronted with this market situation, hardware and software producers are being obliged to adopt new strategies, and to make a large number of products available on the market in response to a variety of different needs. As a result of the multiplicity of choice available, the design of an office system which corresponds precisely to user needs is becoming an increasingly complex task. With exactly this in mind, the Commission, as early as 1985, invited submissions of projects aiming at the development of such adequate tools in its Call for Proposals for the ESPRIT Programme, in order to assist companies in the design of their office systems. This topic was recognised as being of strategic importance, considering the low level of penetration of Information Technology in European enterprises compared to the United States and Japan. Following this strategy, the project TODOS was selected and launched. This project has successfully developed tools and methods for the definition of the functional specifi­ cation of the office system, as well as the system architecture and user interface -results which can be of great interest for the IT community at large.