Issues of EIS software design: some lessons learned in the past decade

Experiences in designing and developing Environmental Information Systems (EISs) are presented to identify important issues for improving design concepts. The lessons learned by the authors over the past decade are highlighted. It was found that a good design philosophy is the first requirement for any successful implementation. Other issues such as generic versus specific design, information and knowledge manipulation, intra- and interconnectivity with other available software, the team approach concept and the choice of whether to emphasize problem-oriented or user-interface oriented design are all important aspects. The benefits and drawbacks of the solutions to these problems are also discussed