An information system for the coordination of program design

Abstract

The best tool for coordinating a large program design project is the computer itself. The programmer is on intimate terms with the computer. He uses it to create his product, to test his product, and to change his product. If he is one of many programmers, all working on a single program system, his activities blend with the activities of others at and within the computer. The very nature of program design is such that an automated management system, built within the object computer 1, can be extremely beneficial in coordinating program design. The Program Management System (PMS) has been designed with this thought in mind. The PMS is an automated system specifically organized to meet the design, coordination, and management information needs of today's large program production projects. Program designers enter actual design documentation into the PMS as their design progresses and selectively retrieve the documentation of others. The PMS is a tool in-line with the program development process. The use of the PMS today should help establish procedures which will lead to more systematic approaches to program development. This, in turn, will increase the usefulness of the PMS itself.