The structured matrix has been developed as a modeling technique with Visibility and Transparency for representing large business structures. As one of its core technologies, type symbols were developed from the idea to describe production and cost models forming value chains, where data and logic are related with clear causal expression. The numbers of type symbols are growing according to the enlargement of these application areas where management phenomenon covering non-monetary and monetary values must be simultaneously handled.

In this paper, typical groups of type symbols are classified and formalized using the algebraic approach, and fundamental characteristics are clarified. In addition, the abilities to express mutual relations as operators are discussed. If the modeling using type symbols can exactly describe a certain aspect of the business structures and their activities, their fundamental characteristics and their commonness of business activities in various businesses would be elucidated to a certain degree by such studies and investigation of applied status of type symbols.

The purpose of the present research paper is to propose and apply to reality a user-centered information systems development methodology.

Information system development is now entering a new era marked by the transition from large and whole-company information systems to smaller-scale organizations information systems. Waterfall methodology, which has been used widely now, does not properly correspond to this change of targets. To overcome this problem, several alternative methodologies have been proposed so far, but they still require experts of system development to proceed the development process. On the other hand, though SSM (Soft Systems Methodology), which values user’s subjectivity, is expected userful for information system development, there is no well-established way to combine it with information system development methodology.

Under this problem recognition, in this paper, user participation is introduced into information system development process. To make the user participation effective, the combination of SSM and Waterfall methodology is proposed. This combination is applied to reality, which is confirmed that the quality of the information system and the period of development are improved. Moreover, users are able to acquire ability to reform business.

Most of pre-production processes in a manufacturer consist of many non-routine tasks and depend on peculiar characteristic technique of skillful workers. Not only explicit data but also tacit knowledge is important. Although skillful engineers are decreasing, the engineering level of pre-production processes must be sophisticated more. Therefore, sharing of information should occur more naturally and the succession system of important information is necessary. This study focused on the information resource management for pre-production processes. Activity models to represent pre-production processes have been studied and implemented to a practical software package. A database in the developed system includes background information as well as foreground information of pre-production processes. The activity model can be linked to the database and CAD system easily. It has been found that the developed system is very useful for practical works after several trials.

In this paper, we stated a possible problems of custody and a use of hierarchical information, mainly handling an unusual information which are collected at the stage of the project’s planning and framing. After that, we proposed three managerial procedures which can solve those problems. They are: 1) hierarchical management of general information, 2) hierarchical management of composed information, and 3) hierarchical management of folder which includes explicit knowledge. Next, in order to prove the effectiveness of these managerial procedures, we developed the information management software called Ptree which has peculiar and effective function. Also for the hierarchical information management’s highest degree of use method, we proposed how the folder’s attribute information can be transformed into numerical values, re-categorized as similar groups, and hierarchically reconstructed by using the cluster analysis and interpretive structural modeling. Then, it was shown to be able to smoothly promote the reconstruction work by using the Ptree. Finally, the effectiveness of this method was shown through a practical applied examples.

Currently one of the most important problems for computer application is how to provide user with “Visibility with Transparency” for the business mechanism that includes the related logic, not merely the related data. The structure matrix is one of the most effective tools for this problem. To make integration of business plans, bilinear relations are useful if it is described upon the improved mechanism of structure matrix. Then, the relations among non-monetary values that form major production activities, unit cost reflecting the non-monetary values and total cost given from arithmetic products of them are effectively described in the same domain as integrated business model keeping up Visibility with Transparency. In this paper, structure matrix and its usefulness are briefly explained and effectiveness of proposed method for the business modeling is discussed by illustrated sample models.