Process modelling from reflective practice for engineering quality

Reflective practice, as previously introduced (Schon, 1983; Dias, Blockley, 1995), is used to begin the development of a language for the modelling of processes be they physical, human or organisational. The aim is to improve the quality of both products and processes in the short term for immediate application with 'passive' data and in the longer term for process enactme nt in inter/intranet systems with 'active' data. One simple advantage will be improved handling of problems with often occur at the interface between difficult technical problems and human and organisational issues. The hypot hesis presented is that everything is an holistic process. The theory is ba sed on the reflective practice loop. Attributes of process models are prese nted and an algorithm is given for determining them. Some suggestions for g eneric organisational processes are presented. The models can be used with standard project management tools if deemed necessary. The potential benefi ts from adopting these ideas are improved clarity of roles, clearer definit ions of success, improved safety and avoidance of complex 'incubating' haza rds and savings of time and money. The methods are currently being tested o n a number of practical projects which will be reported in future papers.