User-defined annotations: artefacts for co-ordination and shared understanding in design teams
Jean-François Boujut · Journal of Engineering Design · 2003
Annotation is a natural way for adding information to a specific representation. Most of the time these annotations remain informal and are considered as mere supports to a verbal exchange. We want to show in this paper that it is important to consider annotation as complex and composite elements that can play a central role in design co-operation. Relying on a strong empirical background especially based on ethnographic research and software developments in the truck manufacturing industry, we argue that providing annotation facilities within computer-aided design systems is not enough. We address here the cognitive side of the annotation, and we show how they can foster knowledge creation and participate to the development of shared understanding among design teams. We put on the hypothesis that annotation systems behave like natural languages, and we start exploring this metaphor. We then make a connection to the concept of communities of practice in order to position our work in a wider conceptual framework where the annotations are part of a ‘shared repertoire’. The organization that can support the creation and maintenance of this ‘shared repertoire’ therefore becomes of prime importance. As a conclusion we propose to consider the annotation as the visible side of a larger and informal process, and propose to develop annotation functionalities of creating, storing retrieving new symbols associated with the creation of annotation glossaries suited for storing elements of the design context.