The development of an experience-based documentation system for maintenance workers in Germany

This paper is one of a pair describing attempts to devise strategies for the effective implementation of continuing professional development for work-oriented communities of practice in Europe. The paper outlines the development of DIADOSYS: an experience-based documentation system for maintenance workers in Germany. The German discussion about experience-guided work has led to the question of how work experience can be used within the process of designing decision support systems for skilled maintenance work. Some considerations about the nature of experience and about the problems skilled workers have in acquiring work competences within computer aided production environments are introduced in order to illustrate the design philosophy of DIADOSYS: a decision support system which stimulates workplace learning by enabling.