A modeling tool for analysing the information requirements of computer integrated manufacturing systems

Information technology can provide an effective foundation for creating competitive advantage in manufacturing environments. In fact, most modern manufacturing companies have computerized a significant portion of their operations. Currently, the immediate challenge for these companies is to move toward the enhanced business capabilities provided by integration of their information systems, and structured techniques can help an analyst model an organization at the information requirement level. Concurrent with the development of structured methods, computerized systems, which support many of the tasks performed in systems analysis and design, have been developed. A major shortcoming of these systems is an inability to represent information flow within an organization dynamically. In this paper, the structure of a recently developed simulation system that reduces the deficiencies of the traditional modeling systems is described. A case study of two manufacturing firms provides the basis for comparing the effectiveness of the traditional versus the proposed modeling system as a means of performing information requirements analysis.