Evolving a Generic Application into a Domain-oriented Design Environment

This paper presents an approach for how end-users can tailor (and evolve) generic computer applications into domain-oriented design environments. It is proposed as a remedy for inflexible computer applications, and as an alternative to building domain-oriented design environments from low-level building blocks. A typical generic application is a word processor, a drawing program, or an email system developed for a generic task such as writing, creating diagrams, or sending electronic messages; whereas a domain-oriented design environment is an application developed for a specialized task, such as collaborative writing, home planning, or meeting scheduling.