Traceability and Structuring of Decision‐Making

This chapter discusses how to capture knowledge from cooperative decision making. In computer supported cooperative work (CSCW), there is a lot of work in design rationale as a support of cooperative decision making. Methods in CSCW can be classified in two principal categories: decision‐making‐driven representation and problem‐solving dynamics representation. When studying decision‐making in cooperative activity, negotiation and conflict management are the main tasks to deal with. Three types of methods can be distinguished in conflict management: prevention, argumentation, conflict detection and conflict solving methods. Traceability of design rationale must be first integrated in the decision‐making process and second offers techniques that help to keep track of collaborative decision‐making from meetings, interactions, etc. A product life cycle management (PLM) platform allows managing the product data along its life cycle process: specification, design and manufacturing and requires efficient traceability functionalities, often based on the definition of standards.