Design support through information systems

The authors address some speculations on the extent to which design of products and systems may be enhanced by integrative information systems. The premise is put forth that information is the currency of design and it follows that the degree to which information retrieval, communication, and processing can be facilitated will reflect the potential advantages accruing to the process of design. It is noted that the design of information systems can be guided by these objectives and the associated patterns of use. There is seen to be a potential to develop information systems geared to the support of an increasingly wide range of activities within the design process. To a large extent this potential is predicated upon the expanded use of function-oriented language, which will have to be grown with the purpose of capturing and communicating conceptual information as well as nonnumerical information