Chapter 6 outlined how a record of the design decision making process for an entire design cycle was constructed using an IBIS‘S based tool. The design team in the field study reflected on the IBIS^ design rationale as it was being constructed during the design cycle. At the end of the design cycle when the IBIS^ maps were completed the product design team experimented with the complete representation for several weeks. A detailed analysis of the design team’s reflections and opinions was conducted based on the feedback obtained at the beginning and end of each formal design meeting and in the structured interviews conducted and this is described in chapter 6. It was established that the knowledge structure based on the IBIS^ notation had certain inherent limitations within it to be addressed.
presented, forming the adapted notation referred to as The importance was emphasised of incorporating a retrospective, reflective stage allowing the knowledge structure to be reviewed, corrected, annotated and updated in order for the design rationale to be a useful and reusable resource. Several further extensions to the IBIS'*' notation were proposed to be incorporated into the IBIS^^^ notation as a critical part of this retrospective stage. An overview was given of the graphical user interfaces (GUI’s) particular to the fashion product design process studied in the field research, which can be connected to the underlying design knowledge base.
This chapter provides a further evaluation of the knowledge structure once it had been reconstructed using the IBIS^^^ notation detailed in chapter 7. A different mapping software environment^ was used to construct the IBIS^^^ representation. Many of the
"overview, zoom, and detail on demand’ (Shneiderman, 1998) navigational tools outlined in section 7.2.2 of chapter 7 as being required by the design team were implemented in the interface of the mapping software used to construct the IBIS^^^ maps.
Section 7.1.3 in chapter 7, outlined how following a retrospective stage a complete representation of the design rationale could be used as a template to provide a starting point and support strategic planning and design decision making for the following season’s design cycle. Additionally the IBIS^^^ maps could be linked to maps of previous and subsequent design cycles providing the opportunity to explore and comprehend the design progression through the cycles. It was not within the scope of this thesis to test this empirically. In order to do so an entire further design rationale cycle would need to be followed using the IBIS^^^ maps from the current cycle to form a template and the maps from both cycles would need to be subsequently linked. This would however be a promising area for further research.
The graphical users interfaces (GUI’s) specific to fashion product design discussed in section 7.2.1 of chapter 7 were implemented as prototypes using data from the design
cycle mapped and these were shown to the users for their comments. In addition the maps were made available for viewing through a web browser in order to explore benefits that might be reaped from using this alternative environment. Figure 8.1 outlines the stages of the knowledge base’s development. A section of one of the maps is shown in Figure 8.2 and further examples taken from the IBIS™ maps can be seen in appendix G which illustrates the features of the maps. The EBIS^^^ representation was reviewed, once it had been implemented via a task analysis conducted with members of the design team used in the field study, in order to explore and confirm how successful the alterations to the notation had been.
Figure 8.1: Stages of Constructing the Multimedia Design Rationale Knowledge Base
Reflection by the design team Multimedia IBIS+ knowledge structure
Re-structured IBIS knowledge structure providing a more useful representation of product design rationale and better navigational facilities l l L L U ^ i L l L Graphical user interfaces specific to fashion product development Collection and elicitation of the design rationale ÎA Î A ^ : : ## A ^ it < % f ^ Evaluation by the design team TA fl 1-^ • * A f II
Figure 8.2: A Section o f an IBIS^^^ Map
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