1 Strategic Argumentation: a method of approach N. Ebenreuter Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs, Applications Studio, Nozay, France Natalie.Ebenreuter@alcatel-lucent.com D. Decotter Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs, Applications Studio, Nozay, France Dominique.Decotter @ alcatel-lucent.com Abstract One of the challenges of the design process is to develop a strategy that enables designers to gain insight from practice-based research that can be used to carry the development of a project forward to its realisation. In this paper we draw on the theory of strategic argumentation as a way to reason about and plan the manner in which design products should function in a particular set of circumstances. For the purposes of this research we focus on the creation of a social-based software system that supports the reading and learning activities of students in an educational setting. By necessity this reasoned approach involves the participation of project stakeholders and potential end-users of the system. This is an important distinction as we look to the end-user community who know the form of a product from practical experience and are guided by the knowledge garnered from user-centered experiments that examined students’ readings styles and strategies. The outcome of this research illustrates the role of argument-based reasoning as a method of passing judgment regarding the type of design decisions that should be made. We illustrate this method through a case study example that begins with an initial design proposal used to explore end-user activities and discuss how our research findings led the iterative development of an interactive prototype tool. Keywords Design methods, strategic argumentation, judgments, reasoning, issues, rationale instances. Introduction Two distinct elements denote the practice of design: (1) the appropriate conception and planning of a specific type of product, and (2) the ability to elucidate the results of its outcome from reasoning or principles (Buchanan 1990). Understanding the relationship between the two, however, is not a simple or straightforward matter. It requires designers to develop an understanding of the design situation, community of use and identify a set of circumstances that could benefit from closer examination due to a felt or known difficulty that arises from concrete experience. An example of this reasoning is Kunz and Rittel’s (1970) theory of strategic argumentation. The theory provides an argument for how a planned or a designed resolution should function under certain conditions that are substantiated by warranted stakeholder claims (Cross 1984). This suggests that argumentation can be employed as a method of passing judgment regarding the type of design decisions that should be made. It necessitates, however, the participation of potential users of a proposed product or service. In support of this, Aristotle (in McKeon 1998) distinguishes between a user who knows the form of a product from practical experience, and a craftsman or designer who is guided by these insights in the creation of new products or services. This becomes significant when the purpose or intended function of a product is not realised to its full potential and the fundamental design of a product fails to perform in an anticipated or appropriate manner.