Computer supported argumentation and collaborative decision making: the HERMES system

Collaborative decision making problems can be addressed through argumentative discourse and collaboration among the users involved. Consensus is achieved through the process of collaboratively considering alternative understandings of the problem, competing interests, priorities and constraints. The application of formal modeling and analysis tools to solve the related processes is impossible before the problem can be articulated in a concise and agreed upon manner. This paper describes HERMES, a system that augments classical decision making approaches by supporting argumentative discourse among decision makers. It is fully implemented in Java and runs on the Web, thus providing relatively inexpensive access to a broad public. Using an illustrative example, we present the argumentation elements, discourse acts and reasoning mechanisms involved in HERMES. We also describe the integration of advanced features to the system; these enable users to retrieve data stored in remote databases in order to further warrant their arguments, and stimulate them to perform acts that best reflect their interests and intentions. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.