The problems with the system are readily apparent. One of Sony's biggest obstacles is that it does not get the information it needs, when it , from its factories. As a result, it cannot provide good deliverry information to customers, which in turn causes a big problem: If Sony is not responsive to its customers' needs, it will probably lose them.
To speed system development, Sony's information systems organization is employing a computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tool from Texas Instruments. The tool lets system designers use local workstations linked to a mainframe and uses aftificial intelligence features to develop program code.
To use the CASE tool, the designer enters statement that describe the data the company will use and the relationships among the data files that will store this information. The CASE tool checks the data relationship to ensure that they are consistent. After any in consistencies have been corrected, the CASE tool produces code that describes the relationships. The information is then stored in a global encyclopedia of corporate information. This process continues until a model of how the company operates is developed. The CASE tool allows this model to be updated and altered as relationship change.
Sony is finding several advantages to using CASE technology. For instance, it requires that developers possess a certain business expertise, which makes designers more effective in translating business problems into systems solutions. The CASE system has also provided a significant productivity boost. Recent smaller development projects at Sony have seen sixfold increases in programming productivity. CASE tools also require significant planning long before any source code is written. Such planning minimizes wasted programming time and the possibility of a runaway system.