Representations are used to gain an understanding of design issues. Knowledge construction is driven by discussing the meanings, shortcomings and implications of representations, with the goal of increasing the shared understanding among stakeholders. Discussion that takes place around a representation adds meaning to it. The goal for knowledge-construction is to construct a shared vision of what new work practices should be and how they should be support with computational tools. Prototypes are representations that enable users to experience and envision possibilities for new work practices.
Prototypes require expressing domain knowledge in a form that is interpretable by the computer.
This is what is meant by domain knowledge formalization. Knowledge construction is an evolutionary perspective of design in which shared understanding, as well as representations, are built in an incremental and cumulative manner. Previously constructed and discussed representations provide a context for current discussions and understandings. The idea is to capture a growing and shared understanding by accumulating representations. The EVA environment provides materials for creating representations.