B2: The choice and use of computers by consulting engineers

Consulting Engineers are expected to provide many different services on a variety of projects. They therefore need to create tools to handle a diversity of work in a flexible way. Among such tools computer systems have been developed at an increasing pace for over two decades and the level of investment in computer systems continues to grow.

The direction in which such computer systems are evolving may be illustrated by a "scenario" of the consulting engineer's office of the future. The period of the scenario is set. two or three decades away and covers just one morning in the life of Enid Danes, a senior partner. The machines she sees and uses were either available in 1982 or imply no fundamental break-through in computer technology. For this reason the extrapolations are conservative. Sy contrast, engineers take time to apply the technology and therefore the extrapolations about their application may be ambitious. So here is the scenario: