Developing custom software and merging with an existing retrieval system: a case study

Abstract

The stages of effort undertaken by the National Epilepsy Library and Resource Center of the Epilepsy Foundation of America to dovetail an off‐the‐shelf database retrieval package with a custom correspondence response package are presented. In a Wang VS‐80 minicomputer environment, a concept for a package to streamline the process of answering 25,000 queries from the general public, using an in‐place resources database for referral requirements, was developed. A methodical and thorough system design phase emphasizing operator friendliness and top‐down design coupled with appropriate experience with the Wang operating system was essential for success. Involving staff who possessed different operational perspectives in the system testing stage is recommended. Suggestions on how to avoid oversights in all these critical stages are presented. The original flexibility designed into the software has produced a package that can be enhanced in order to remain responsive to the Foundation's needs in the years to come.

Citation

Shockley, C.W. and Hinds, T.H. (1984), "Developing custom software and merging with an existing retrieval system: a case study", The Electronic Library, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 101-113. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb044616