An assessment of the applicability of object-oriented analysis to the development of information systems

Abstract

In recent years, several object-oriented (OO) approaches to the analysis of information systems (IS) have been proposed by different authors. However, there is still some controversy about the adequacy of OO approaches to IS modelling. While some authors claim that OO modelling techniques are very close to the way human beings organise their ideas, other authors point out some difficulties in the exclusive use of OO models for IS modelling. The experiment described in the paper constitutes a contribution to the understanding of the adequacy of OO approaches to IS modelling. The deliverables of an IS analysis project (carried out according to the Coad/Yourdon OO analysis method) have been presented to three opinion groups: undergraduate IS students, post-graduate IS students, and domain experts (insurance business). The results of the experiment suggest that the approach used in the project can lead to "good" IS models (e.g. dimension, level of detail, consistency, understandability) although there are some aspects that need to be improved. One particular aspect where OO IS models seem to fail is the adequate representation of organisation processes.