Embedding critics in design environments

Abstract

Human understanding in design evolves through a process of critiquing existing knowledge and consequently expanding the store of design knowledge. Critiquing is a dialogue in which the interjection of a reasoned opinion about a product or action triggers further reflection on or changes to the artifact being designed. Our work has focused on applying this successful human critiquing paradigm to human-computer interaction. We argue that computer-based critiquing systems are most effective when they are embedded in domain-oriented design environments, which are knowledge-based computer systems that support designers in specifying a problem and constructing a solution. Embedded critics playa number of important roles in such design environments: (1) they increase the designer's understanding of design situations by pointing out problematic situations early in the design process; (2) they support the integration of problem framing and problem solving by providing a linkage between the design specification and the design construction; and (3) they help designers access relevant information in the large information spaces provided by the design environment. Three embedded critiquing mechanisms-generic, specific, and interpretive critics-are presented, and their complementary roles within the design environment architecture are described.

Supporting Group Cognition in an Online Math Community: A Cognitive Tool for Small-Group Referencing in Text Chat

“…The intertwining uses of the dual workspaces of whiteboard and chat mirror the intertwining of content space and problem space that is characteristic of collaborative learning (Barron, 2003, p. 310). Given the complexity resulting from dual spaces-whether split for work vs. reflection (Fischer et al, 1998;Schön, 1983) or transitory vs. persistent (Dillenbourg & Traum, 2006, p. 143f)-and the concomitant substantially increased burden of coordination within the group, we can clearly see the importance of cognitive tool support for referencing from one space to the other.…”

A Conceptual Framework for Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning at Work

“…Creating externalizations [Bruner, 1996] (one of the main objectives of the EDC described in narrative 2) is of special importance for groups, because "a group has no head". For collaborative design activities, externalizations are a necessity because they create a record of our mental efforts, one that is "outside us" rather than vaguely in memory, and they represent situations which can talk back to us, critiqued, and negotiated [Fischer et al, 1998;Schön, 1983] …”

“…Going back and forth between the two spaces provides the participants with numerous learning possibilities. The transition from the action to the reflection space is often triggered by critics [Fischer et al, 1998] that signal a breakdown situation such as the violation of existing knowledge. Communities of Interest: the EDC brings together stakeholders with different expertise, including professional planners, financial experts, transportation planners, and financial experts.…”

Personalizing Delivered Information in a Software Reuse Environment

“…Tasks can be modeled through either plan recognition or similarity analysis [4,6]. The plan recognition approach uses plans to specify the link from a series of primitive user actions to the goal of a task.…”

“…CodeBroker builds upon our previous experience with critiquing systems [4] that model tasks by plan recognition to give feedback to users who have developed a suboptimal solution. CodeBroker tries to predict information needs and provide feedforward [16] for users so that they can avoid suboptimal solutions.…”