Formal techniques for design of an information and life-cycle management system: The OLYMPIOS method

This paper presents a design method dedicated to manufacturing firms' information and decision systems (IDS). It has been developed to help small and medium sized enterprises to follow a CIM (computer integrated manufacturing) approach. So our work is a contribution to the IDS modelling in the very particular field of manufacturing firms' IDS. However, the formal description techniques used in OLYMPIOS can be extended to other applications. But, in fact, what is really important, and what we want to focus on, is the philosophy of our works, in two words: coherence and continuity. The coherence of a model, which is the main factor of quality, can be obtained by the means of mathematical specifications (logic or algebra). But to match the specification to reality, and to preserve coherence until realisation and maintenance, one must manage the system life cycle in homogeneous and continuous approach. For example, OLYMPIOS uses object-oriented design techniques to cope with the complexity of industrial information. Then we have tried to take the object concept into account, as early as possible in the life cycle. We also had to cope with time (the ''dynamic'' side) so that we propose to introduce temporal features in objects. We propose a continuous life cycle, with partly automatic translations from analysis to design. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.