In a restricted domain -- the design of software -- we are putting in
place a Design Decision Log to try to capture something. I say
"something" because I'm not just sure it's _knowledge_ . . . yet.
We find the design of software complex process, involving myriad
decisions which (hopefully) weigh alternatives, consider conse-
qeunces, make compromises. And we find software generally a "durable
good" -- industrial systems frequently hang around for years and
even decades, undergoing modifications over time as the world
changes. So Designers must addess the challenge of attempting to
communicate to the _next_ generation of Designers just what they
had in mind when they made those decisions.
We believe that you can look at each of those decisions from
many perspectives. We try to have the Design Log capture the
answers to good questions to make explicit those perspectives. So
the Log asks: This decision favored which facets of Quality? This
decision gave preferrence to the demands of which of the stakeholding
Audiences? Does this decison owe something to some clearly
identifible outside Influences that held sway? Did this
decision have significant Ethical implcations? Did the decision
hold Data, or Network, or Presentation, or Business Rules as the
dominant force?
We hope that through reviewing this Log over time we can gain
two benefits. (1) We hope to better understand the rationale for
decisions made in the misty past by now-absent beings. (2) We
hope to discover lessons from what worked (on "successful" systems)
and eventually convert the _data_ in the Log into _knowledge_.
So we have undertaken some steps to gather at least some
corporate knowledge. The jury remains out, however -- this
kind of effort requires something of a culture change.
Michael Ayers
mbayers@mmm.com (612) 733-5690 FAX (612) 737-7718
3M Center Bldg 224-2NE-02 PO Box 33224 St Paul MN 55133-3224