The effectiveness of argumentative approaches to the design of software

This thesis investigates the potential of design rationale to support software designers working on error-prone tasks. Throughout the thesis, I dually pursuit theoretical aspects of the design process as well as issues of support environments initially, the literature is reviewed for weak aspects of the design process, i.e. parts not supported by standard software tools. Our focus turns on the 'breakdowns', which correspond to cognitive difficulties faced by designers Interestingly enough, another research strand emphasizes on the recovery from such difficulties seeing it as facilitation of problem re-framing and generation of ideas. It is suggested that in order to facilitate that type of recovery transition, the decision-making process should be assisted through the sharing of expertise among design stakeholders. [Continues.]