Allan MacLean, Richard Young, Victoria Bellotti and Thomas Moran (1991), Human–Computer Interaction 6(3–4):201–250 — DOI-10.1207/s15327051hci0603&4_2
Key takeaways
Registered, not read. From the abstract only: Design Space Analysis represents design rationale in a semiformal notation, QOC. Questions identify key design issues, Options are possible answers, and Criteria assess and compare the Options. The analysis is not a record of the design process but a coproduct of design, built alongside the artifact. Its claimed return is support for reasoning about the design and its changes, and for communication within the team and with later maintainers. The authors say plainly that these claims are goals they have not yet achieved, since the work emphasises the representation over the process of creating it.
Standing in the record
Filed on 2026-10-06 at the owner’s request, with the rest of the design-rationale batch under ADR-030. See the curation entry of that day for why the batch is here.