An `AI in Design' View of Design

System Architecture

Design systems are themselves artifacts, developed with different functionalities in mind. As in any other design field, developers have assembled functional modules into design systems that have various structures (i.e., architectures). The architecture used strongly affects how, and how well, a system works. As more sophisticated development tools (e.g., compilers, expert system shells, etc.) and components (e.g., libraries, graphics packages) become available, system architectures tend to be increasingly complex and more dimensions are needed for their description.

Does the system consist of a single problem-solving unit or is it a distributed system? What are the basic components of the system? What are the interfaces supporting the interaction of the system with the external world? Is the architecture of the system tied to a restricted domain or is it portable to other design domains? Is the system extensible? Does the system need any auxiliary tools to carry out its task?

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