Capturing Software Rationale in a Multi-Media Design Narrative

In this SBIR project, Knowledge Evolution, Inc. (KEI) supported by the University of Southern California's Information Sciences Institute (ISI) proposes to develop a Multi-Media Design Narrative (MMDN) capability that can fundamentally alter the way software design knowledge is communicated among designers. The MMDN will bid on three complimentary technologies: 1) KEI's case-based approach to software engineering, 2) work by ISI on applying multi-media to software documentation, and 3) Literate Programs. The project will go beyond the three base technologies by introducing explicit narrative structure into the software design record and packaging it in a multi-media presentation similar to computer-based training (CBT). For any particular task, the narrative structure will lead the developer along the most relevant threads in the web of recorded decisions and artifacts. The narrative structure will "raise the stakes" of the design process by engaging the developer in a dialogue, inviting him or her to become an actor in the ongoing story, highlighting and giving substance to the implications of design decisions.