This is a representation of a systematic assembly of various design processes and of a conceptual structure of a reminiscence of the designer, built during the designer’s working process. It is a documentation of designer’s life-long procedure of establishing insights and experiences.

 The system will modify and reorganize resources that were documented during the designer’s working process in systematic fashion; Collected and systematized resources will be visually presented to designers as a designed artifact. The system does not merely refer to documentation itself, but a representation of a procedure of observation and reflection on one’s ongoing and completed design process and past practices. 

As the designer interacts with this system, he/she will observe and examine the collected data, than analysis them. During this stage, the designer will become conscious of his/her own design approach of the past. In the reflection and evaluation stage, the designer will contemplate and appreciate the shown product of the documentation. After the incubation of thoughts, the designer will explore their workflows to discover and define patterns out of them and recycle their own thoughts.

 Through this self-reflective and self-learning process, the designer will be inspired by documentation of his/her own work path. The designer will make a decision whether he/she should preserve the previous conception and the way of treatment on his/her project, or leave them behind and take other directions before they take a next step for their desired goals; the previous perception of the designer will be reinforced or reconstructed at this stages. The designer will deal with problems and constraints by choosing right direction.

 This repetitive process, will affect not only the outcome of the specific design but also the entire thinking method and working process.Through the system, designer will monitor a collected chain of working processes at a glance. The processes are dependent; they are influencing each other.

Like the present is built upon the past, knowledge is built upon pre-existing knowledge. Sharing knowledge of working processes, thinking methods and idea is a pivotal act for the construction of today’s design and its further development. This system can be a communication tool. After the designer decides to publish certain section of the documentation, it will transfer it to the public as a bridge between the outside world and the designer.

Some artists define their idea and beliefs by holding exhibitions, sharing their refined works and reflect on their own artistic path.  Like this, to designers, publishing and sharing selected documentation of work and outcomes will define the intention of the designer and his/her professional pursuit. 

Refactoring tool:

Takes notes, both written and spoken, and allows the team to re-factor them on the fly to create both large-display representations and documentation.

Takes white board notes and both raw representation and refactored representation allows team to perform the following functions: sharing, storing, cross-referencing based on content and tags, refactoring on an ajacent screen for on the fly documentation and critical discussion.

Connects to internet and the networked libraries of the individuals invovled in the collaboration, cross-refrences with these libraries and posts visual connections on an large format screen.

Computer uses it’s own intelligence to refactor the results of a brainstorm and create it’s own version with meta data that connects to referenced files. This file can be parsed to use in the making process.

Library connector:

Looks at connections between libraries and makes associations between the content to form predictive common interests.
Creates a mood board document from the combinations of libraries surrounding a particular topic,search, or file. Document is set-up for web and print viewing, keeping in mind the excersice of pin-up.

Management

Accountability tool:

A tool that helps organize and establish positive interdepedence and later tracks progress on the project by individual accoutability.

Project phases feature:

A function of tools that is aware of project phases and adapts intelligently to offer assistance according to the particular project phase.

This type of thinking is cognitive processing of information around a common point, an attempt to bring thoughts from different directions into a union or common conclusion.

Divergent thinking:

This type of thinking starts from a common point and moves outward into a variety of perspectives. When fosering divergent thinking, teachers use the content as a vehicle to prompt diverse or unique thinking among students rather than a common view.

Refrenced from this link

Productive collaboration:

Divergent thinking that leads to an abundance of ideas and possible design directions.
Like a think tank. Participants are treated as autonomous producers.

Directive collaboration

Covergent thinking and efforts of a group which is utilized and managed in order to produce a single outcome.
Like an assembly line. Participants are treated as components of a process.

OBSERVATION – DOCUMENTATION – ANALYSIS – REFLECTION-EVALUATION - ADAPTATION

 The designer’s practice is communicating designer’s intent to the outside world by presenting output that created by the designer.

The process of practice, illustrated in this diagram is rather one directional; it is performed throughout one’s life span of commitment in design practice. However, the whole process of practice is consisted with several sessions of ideas and making, which is red inner circle of this diagram; it represents the embodiment of designer’s idea through fabrication and development of format by utilizing affordance that is available to the designer.

 The grey circle, a system of observation – documentation – analysis – reflection – evaluation – adaptation, is an embodied and articulated abstraction of reflection of the overall practice. An intent of the designer is the core effector that shapes the modes of output and it’s process of making, thus the observation – documentation – analysis – reflection – evaluation – adaptation –system will be influenced by the context of the intent, yet the system is orbiting around the whole path of the designer’s practice and constantly influencing the intent and growing along with the designer’s practice.  

Sharing is fundamental part of designing. It’s not design, without the intent to produce some sort of shared output.

There is a similar relationship between collaboration and design practice. If you treat design as a practice which includes the design of relationships with people, than you must engage in the act of collaboration at some time.

Collaborations are commonly formed for working on a project, followed by some type of shared output. The nature of shared output that comes as a result of collaboration requires different demands for sharing. These demands are even more varied when collaborations occur in an open-source environment.

This presents an area of opportunity to explore the affordances and create new tools surrounding collaboration.

At minimum there is need to modernize collaboration tools for designers.