Managing knowledge throughout the software development cycle using the cognitive decision aid knowledge acquisition toolset (CDAKAT)

This paper describes a multiyear research and development effort for a knowledge management system. We first describe the need for communication support between knowledge acquisition (KA) and software development (SD), as motivated by our software engineering experiences, including the Rotorcraft Pilot´s Associate and its utility of cognitive decision aiding systems (CDASs). Technology exists to capture knowledge; putting it into a useful, accessible format for requirements definition and later SD lags behind. This paper describes our solution: TAGGER. TAGGER enables richer communication between KA and SD by allowing ´tagging´ knowledge as it is acquired, using SD - relevant terms. Tagging is done during knowledge elicitation and requires little extra effort beyond taking notes. The resulting tags facilitate later knowledge inspection, and links are carried forward even into testing and redesign.