Application-Oriented Software Development for Supporting Cooperative Work

adequate way of handling. Our guideline for this design task is what we call a leitmotif. A leitmotif makes the way of looking at software explicit. It helps developers and users to understand and design a software system on a general level. A leitmotif can be made tangible with the help of a set of design metaphors which solidify the general guidelines in a pictorial way. A design metaphor describes a component of a software system by means of an artifact from the users' 'every-day' world. With the help of these metaphors it is possible for software developers and users to relate design and implementation components to familiar implements and terms, so that all parties share a common background and have a basis for communication. We have chosen Tools and Materials as our predominant design metaphors, since we can frequently describe a work situation by saying how tools and materials are used to achieve a goal. Materials are those objects of the application domain that are worke