Reuse of Knowledge: Empirical Studies

Willemien VISSER

Ergonomic Psychology Project - INRIA
Domaine de Voluceau - Rocquencourt - B.P. 105 - 78153 LE CHESNAY Cedex - France
email: Willemien.Visser@inria.fr


Abstract. This paper presents empirical studies, mainly from psychology, on reuse of
knowledge, especially in design. The results are considered relevant to research and development 
in the domain of CBR because of the support function generally attributed to CBR
systems. The data exposed concern both representational and processing aspects of reuse.
The topics discussed are: reuse vs. design "from scratch"; different stages in reuse, especially 
retrieval; types of entity reused (with respect to their abstraction level, origin, and
product-solution vs. procedure-solution character) and types of their exploitation;
strategies of reuse; frequency of effective reuse; effects of reuse on designers productivity;
difficulties and risks of reuse. The paper closes with possible repercussions for CBR systems 
based on the results presented, and research topics in the domain of reuse of knowledge 
(conditions of reuse, retrieval from memory, and reuse and analogical reasoning).


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