Evolution in Systems Development and the Parallels in Document Management

Abstract

This chapter discusses the evolution of business software development for managing structured data. The 1960s were probably the decade where modern business systems development became a pervasive concept. The concept of the flat file i.e. having a single dimension, containing one or more records which in turn contained one or more fields as the lower level elements, was the basic construct for data management for early business systems. Business systems of this era were characterized by the construction of custom applications designed to solve a specific business problem. By the mid- to late-1970s, the weaknesses and the disadvantages of custom systems development based on the flat file, solution specific design philosophy, made it painfully obvious that a new and different approach was required for utilizing information technology within the business enterprise. The data-driven approach to enterprise data management was definitely an evolutionary step in the right direction.