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From the Publisher:

The design of computer systems capable of understanding and effectively meeting human needs is of great importance to our economy and well-being. It is generally agreed by those who have studied design that we can greatly improve the ultimate systems by improving the way we go about designing them. Researchers and practitioners in a variety of fields have been involved in this effort. The concept of design rationale, the why of designing, has emerged as a key to making design processes more intelligible and easier to deal with. Design rationale refers broadly to issues in the methods, documentation, and communication of design thinking. This book offers the most comprehensive account to date on research into design rationale. The authors report on leading-edge theory and empirical studies of the nature and use of design rationale. They also describe the significance of design rationale for creating design tools and for teaching designers. Finally, they discuss the nature of system design and the use of design rationale in real design settings in industry.