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Acquiring design rationale automatically

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2000

KAREN L. MYERS
Affiliation:
Artificial Intelligence Center, SRI International, 333 Ravenswood Ave., Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
NINA B. ZUMEL
Affiliation:
Artificial Intelligence Center, SRI International, 333 Ravenswood Ave., Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
PABLO GARCIA
Affiliation:
Innovative Product Engineering and Technologies, SRI International, 333 Ravenswood Ave., Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA

Abstract

The value of comprehensive rationale for documenting a design has long been recognized. However, designers rarely produce detailed rationale in practice because of the substantial time investment required. Efforts to support the acquisition of rationale information have focused on languages and tools for structuring the acquisition process, but still require substantial involvement on the part of the designer. This paper describes an experimental system, the Rationale Construction Framework (RCF), that acquires rationale information for the detailed design process without disrupting a designer's normal activities. The underlying approach involves monitoring designer interactions with a commercial computer-assisted design (CAD) tool to produce a rich process history. This history is subsequently structured and interpreted relative to a background theory of design metaphors that enable explanation of certain aspects of the design process. The framework provides an environment that can acquire rich, meaningful rationale information in a time- and cost-effective manner, with minimal disruption to the designer.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2000 Cambridge University Press

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