JANUS

Abstract

This video demonstrates the basic concepts and show a sample dialog of the JANUS system. JANUS is a design environment for kitchen design developed at the University of Colorado. JANUS supports two fundamental design activities: construction and argumentation. These are complementary in nature and integrated by means of knowledge-based critics and catalog examples. This integration allows critics to apply relevant argumentative information to a designer’s current construction situation and it supports Donald Schoen’s notion of rejl’ection-in-action. Reflection-in-action characterizes how professionals design and is the time during which new knowledge can best be learned. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK The following basic concepts defiie the JANUS design methodology: ● Construction is the act of “doing” design. This is the situated activity of creating an artifact by manipulating basic building blocks or materials characteristic of a domain. This is a pre-reflective activity with the artifact ready-to-hand. In JANUS the basic building blocks are kitchen design units such as sink, stove, and refrigerator. They are contained in a construction kit [3]. s critics. Construction opens up possibilities for design, but also for breakdown. We use “critics” to point out breakdown situations. They are knowledgebased agents which make the “situation talk back” to prevent unanticipated consequences of the actions taken [1]. For example, if the distance between the sink, stove, and refrigerator is greater than 23 feet, the work triangle critic is fired. . Argumentation is the counterpart to construction. This is the activity of thinking and talking about design with the artifact present-at-hand. This allows breakdown situations to be resolved in a rational manner through reflection and deliberation. JANUS supports argumentation by a PHI-based hypertext system of issues, answers, and arguments about kitchen design rules such as the work triangle [3, 4]. ● Catalog Examples are the counterpart to critics. They help to situate argumentation by illustrating the principle under discussion. The examples are complete kitchen designs from the “catalog” in JANUS-CONSTRUCTION. ● Reelection-in-Acti”on. The diagram in Figure 1 shows how the four basic concepts just described are interrelated in the design process. Breakdowns identified by critics cause the engaged designer to pause for a moment and shift from pre-reflective construction to reflective argumentation and back again in context by catalog examples. Donald Schoen characterizes professional design as reflection-in-action [7, 5]. This happens when the constructionargumentation cycle takes place within the “actionpresent”. This is the time period during which reflection can still make a difference to what action is taken, and the flow of designing is not disrupted. THE VIDEO The video integrates the basic concepts with a sample dialog with JANUS. It starts off by presenting a problem scenario of a programmer using a high functionality computer system to write a program. Finding reference information in such a system is a mixed blessing. Documentation may occupy several yards of shelf space. The relationship between programming (seen as design) and kitchen design is that of implementationk.pacification to construction/argumentation. Programming can be seen as design which cycles between implementation and specification. To support this process we need to build tools which augments these two activities and which take an active part in making reference information relevant to a designer’s task at hand without disrupting the flow of