A knowledge representation approach to the design of architectures for office information systems

A framework for generating computer system Architectures that are suitable for realizing an Office Information System is presented. The Architecture generation process is seen as a mapping from a functional specification of the office expressed in terms of a conceptual scheme, and integrated with data concerning the existing office and users's needs, to a number of office Architectures, each saitsfying by construction the given set of functional and non-functional requirements. Among such Architectures, the most appropriate one with respect to a cost-benefit trade-off is then selected, on the basis of performance measurement obtained via simulation. A methodology for achieving the mapping underlying the Architecture generation process is proposed, and a model for describing office Architectures is provided. Such a model relies on a knowledge base where hardware and software products are organized along with the knowledge for combining them into Architectures. A computer tool exists which Supports an incremental construciion of Architectures according to this model. The tool embodies the knowledge about hardware and software products, and about the possible ways of combining them into Architectures, in the form of a procedural semantic network, and makes accessible this knowledge to the Architecture designer through an interactive environment supported by a graphical interface.