Combining Object Oriented Process and Information Models in the Design of Co-operative Systems for an Area Health Authority

The Integrated Cooperative Workspace (ICW) project1 is researching the issues involved with computers supporting cooperative work (CSCW) in enterprises, and developing integrated methods and Open Standards-based software tools to facilitate this. In this paper, we explain the business issues which provide the rationale for ICW, and describe each component of the ICW methods and tool sets, and the way the components fit together, from a business perspective. We report on the approaches developed within the project, which employ Object-Oriented extensions to Information Modelling techniques, allied to Object-Oriented Process Modelling and an Enterprise Information Service. The notion of ‘Three Views’ of an organisation: the Information, Process and Human Resources views, operating within a User-Centred Incremental Development Route is described. We situate the discussion in the context of a specific application, supporting collaborative management work in a Health Authority.