The pattern views a decision as the choice of the way to proceed in a given situation to achieve an intention . In the EKD approach, a decision is contextual i.e. both situation and intention driven. An intention can be fulfilled in different ways depending on the situation being considered. In order to take this aspect into account, we propose to fully associate the intention and the situation in what we call a context . The output of the EKD decision making pattern is either a modification of the product or the generation of new contexts.
Participative design requires a complex process to take place.
There is first, heuristical knowledge which partly constitutes the know-how of EKD engineers. The decision making pattern is taylored to always provide guidance . Therefore, the body of the decision making pattern is intended to provide guidance on how to proceed to achieve the intention in the given situation. Our approach provides three types of guidance which can be related to the levels of abstraction introduced in figure 2. Relationship between the different type of guidance and the abstraction levels Decision making might require emergence of ideas, exploration of choices, argumentation of various alternatives and perhaps deliberation among the stakeholders involved in the process.