Gerhard Fischer

KER Journal 1993 Journal Article

Embedding critics in design environments

• Gerhard Fischer
• Kumiyo Nakakoji
• Jonathan Ostwald
• Gerry Stahl
• Tamara Sumner

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 play a 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.

AAAI Conference 1991 Conference Paper

Making Design Objects Relevant to the Task at Hand

• Gerhard Fischer

Many problem-solving approaches are based on the assumption that a problem can be precisely defined before it is solved. These approaches are inadequate for dealing with ill-defined problems, which require the coevolution of problem setting and problem solving. In this paper, we describe integrated, domain-oriented, knowledge-based design environments and their underlying multifaceted architecture. The environments empower humans to cope with ill-defined problems, such as design, by supporting an incrementalapproachto problem setting and problem solving. We focus on the integration of specification, construction, and a catalog of prestored design objects in those environments. The synergy of integration enables the environments to make those objects relevant to the task at hand. Taking architectural design as a domain to illustrate our approach, we describe an operational, prototype system (CATALOGEXPLORER) that assists designers in locating examplesin the catalogthat are relevantto the task at hand as articulatedby a partial specificationand a partial construction. Users are thereby relieved of the task of forming queries and navigating in information spaces. l

AAAI Conference 1988 Conference Paper

Knowledge-Based Spreadsheets

• Gerhard Fischer

IJCAI Conference 1987 Conference Paper

A Critic for LISP

• Gerhard Fischer