?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Brahms%3A+Simulating+Work+Practice&rft.creator=Clancey%2C+W+J.&rft.creator=Sachs%2C+P.&rft.creator=Sierhuis%2C+M.&rft.creator=van+Hoof%2C+R.&rft.subject=Artificial+Intelligence&rft.description=A+continuing+problem+in+business+today+is+the+design+of+human-computer+systems+that+respect+how+work+actually+gets+done.+The+overarching+context+of+work+consists+of+activities%2C+which+people+conceive+as+ways+of+organizing+their+daily+life+and+especially+their+interactions+with+each+other.+Activities+include+reading+mail%2C+going+to+workshops%2C+meeting+with+colleagues+over+lunch%2C+answering+phone+calls%2C+and+so+on.+Brahms+is+a+multiagent+simulation+tool+for+modeling+the+activities+of+groups+in+different+locations+and+the+physical+environment+consisting+of+objects+and+documents%2C+including+especially+computer+systems.+A+Brahms+model+of+work+practice+reveals+circumstantial%2C+interactional+influences+on+how+work+actually+gets+done%2C+especially+how+people+involve+each+other+in+their+work.+In+particular%2C+a+model+of+practice+reveals+how+people+accomplish+a+collaboration+through+multiple+and+alternative+means+of+communication%2C+such+as+meetings%2C+computer+tools%2C+and+written+documents.+Choices+of+what+and+how+to+communicate+are+dependent+upon+social+beliefs+and+behaviors--what+people+know+about+each+other's+activities%2C+intentions%2C+and+capabilities+and+their+understanding+of+the+norms+of+the+group.+As+a+result%2C+Brahms+models+can+help+human-computer+system+designers+to+understand+how+tasks+and+information+actually+flow+between+people+and+machines%2C+what+work+is+required+to+synchronize+individual+contributions%2C+and+how+tools+hinder+or+help+this+process.+In+particular%2C+workflow+diagrams+generated+by+Brahms+are+the+emergent+product+of+local+interactions+between+agents+and+representational+artifacts%2C+not+pre-ordained%2C+end-to-end+paths+built+in+by+a+modeler.+We+developed+Brahms+as+a+tool+to+support+the+design+of+work+by+illuminating+how+formal+flow+descriptions+relate+to+the+social+systems+of+work%3B+we+accomplish+this+by+incorporating+multiple+views--relating+people%2C+information%2C+systems%2C+and+geography--in+one+tool.+Applications+of+Brahms+could+also+include+system+requirements+analysis%2C+instruction%2C+implementing+software+agents%2C+and+a+workbench+for+relating+cognitive+and+social+theories+of+human+behavior.&rft.date=1998&rft.type=Preprint&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=text%2Fhtml&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F476%2F1%2F149.htm&rft.identifier=++Clancey%2C+W+J.+and+Sachs%2C+P.+and+Sierhuis%2C+M.+and+van+Hoof%2C+R.++(1998)+Brahms%3A+Simulating+Work+Practice.++%5BPreprint%5D++++(Unpublished)++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F476%2F<script src='//archive-bar.soton.ac.uk/archive-bar.js'></script>