Integrated support for systems design

The paper describes a design support system which goes beyond the support facilities offered by the current generation of CASE tools. It examines the entire design process, and proposes that the early stages of conceptual design needs a more flexible system than is currently offered by existing design methods. The tool (the designer´s notepad (DNP)) allows rough designs to be created and design options explored. The design can be assessed, evaluated and automatically converted to the less flexible notation used in design methods for detailed development. The system is not restricted to any particular method; it allows methods to be defined and, where appropriate, to be used in parallel. Although originally built to support software design, the DNP is also suited to supporting the systems design process where functionality is split between hardware and software components