ABSTRACT: Arguments are presented in support of the evolutionary development of information systems. The traditional analysis and design tools are shown to be inappropriate for the evolutionary development, and the requirements for such a development environment are determined. Three major tools are borrowed from the fields of artificial intelligence, programming languages, and database management, and combined to create an environment that meets these requirements. The resulting novel system architecture is described by using a university registration system.
Key words and phrases: evolutionary development, system architecture, system life cycle, system design, development tools