Access Keys Warehouse: a new approach to the development of cooperative information systems

We present and discuss a novel architectural approach supporting the integration among legacy information systems of autonomous organizations. It is based on the use of a data warehouse in a new conceptual role. Namely, we propose to use it during design and implementation of a cooperative information system as a tool supporting the coherence maintenance of the underlying databases and the efficient management of accesses to them. Our approach is rooted in the SICC project for cadastral data exchange among Italian Municipalities, Ministry of Finance, Notaries and Certified Land Surveyors. Research results reported here are an abstraction of solutions introduced in the SICC project and validated through a number of inter-organization cooperative information systems projects managed by the "Coordinamento dei Progetti Intersettorian" of AIPA, the Italian Authority for Information Technology in Public Administration.