Department of Computer Science & Information Systems
Brunel University, Uxbridge, Middlesex,UB8 3PH,U.K.
Abstract
This paper will discuss the common difficulties that impact on the development of information systems. It will focus on the dynamic nature of development process and suggest that this can cause difficulties for users of information systems, particularly through problems of managing and effectively synthesising the information that shapes the system as it evolves. It will be further suggested that hypertext/hypermedia systems as development environments provide opportunities to address these issues by structuring information ina way which is familiar to users. This is made possible by the flexible structuring information, which is a defining feature of hypertext/hypermedia systems. The power and flexibility of building associations and relationships between information to provide structure can, it is suggested, support users through effectively exploiting their cognitive skills: such as the general ability to develop models of complex associations. This discussion is illustrated by proposing a hypermedia system that has been developed to support the development of information systems. Fully Integrated Environment for Layered Development (FIELD). An application of FIELD to develop a specific information system is described. The application is used to highlight the support that hypermedia tools such as FIELD can provide to users throughthe development of more naturally structured information systems.
KEYWORDS: Cognitive Modelling, Hypertext, Geographic Information
Systems.