At the start of the DESIRE project, the quality mechanisms in place for selective Internet services were rudimentary when compared to those in the commercial sector, which emphasised systems of continuous improvement. Defining quality processes for an information gateway was more than simply listing the right questions to ask about potential resources. It was decided that a diagrammatic conceptual model should be developed to provide a framework within which to analyse, develop and implement continuous improvement processes for information gateways.

Information gateways emphasise the role of librarianship in the assessment of resources and "quality control" of their collection. The core activity of selecting and attributing meaning to those resources is a skilled human activity. Soft Systems Methodology was used to develop the model and is well suited to examining problem situations within purposeful human activity systems.

The model is not a specification or a system definition, but a graphical and textual representation of what is necessary to effect the transformations which information gateways are established to achieve. Such a model could be built in many different ways and there is no sense in which it is right or wrong or complete. It is an analytical tool to be used in a systematic comparison with the real world. The disparities which are observed in any such comparison are intended to result in real world action to improve the existing situation (continuous improvement).The conceptual model aims to be comprehensive and generalised and not constrained to any particular subject area.

The model has proved to be a useful tool for the specification, implementation, development and evaluation of any subject gateway, making the substance of the original report more generally applicable. Anyone involved in establishing or running an information gateway may use this tool to:

• make use of a sharable conceptual map for discussions on information gateways
• stimulate discussion and aid problem solving by providing agreed points of focus
• provide a basis for specification and design to anyone setting up an information gateway
• enable the testing of existing and subsequent specifications for information gateways
• identify possible quality improvement tools and methods
• identify areas where control criteria needed to be developed
• aid grouping and classification of various quality and control criteria
• help in producing software and systems specifications
• help to identify and stratify training needs
• provide a flexible development path once established