Making the most of structured analysis in manufacturing information system design: Application of icons and cycle-time

Abstract An attempt was made to extend the usefulness of structured analysis for modelling the as-is manufacturing information data flows, by enriching both its perspective and its tools. The change in perspective involved a re-emphasis on modeling the current as-is information system as completely as possible. To support this change in perspective, an additional tool set was proposed that is to be incorporated into the structured analysis paradigm. This tool set has been termed Icon-Based Structured Analysis (ISA). The tool set includes text and mathematically-tagged iconic-based modeling techniques; these techniques include both numeric attribute cycle-time components for showing process, as well as visually oriented, user-specific graphic components that display structure. In effect, ISA extends the syntactic and interpretative elements available to the structured analysis modeler and thus allows the display of additional high-level abstractions that are understandable and analyzable by both user and modeler. This capability allows the analyst and user to move quickly to agreement on the desired characteristics of the proposed information system.