USING COMPUTER-BASED TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPORT A SUBJECTIVE METHOD OF INQUIRY

In the first part of this paper a description is given of the Appreciative Inquiry Method (AIM), a subjective method of inquiry which is deemed to be of particular use and benefit in the development of computer-based information systems in complex domains. AIM was originally developed in its manual form as a method of knowledge elicitation (KE) which might alleviate some of the problems recognized to exist within the process of KE when building expert systems. The method has since been shown to have the potential to provide mom than a process of KE in that it offers a practical mode of inquiry consistent with the desire to recognize the subjectivity of individual perceptions of any situation or process under investigation. The second part of the paper concerns the work ongoing in translating the manual version of AIM into a computer-based support tool which incorporates features associated with hypertext technology. The end product is seen as providing both a potential ''front-end'' development aid to hypermedia/multimedia/KBS applications and a potential computer-based inquiry support system in its own right.