Argumentation schemes for the reuse of argumentation information in collaborative risk management

Risk management is a continuous process which is central to the success of a software project. To be effective, a risk management approach should consider perspectives and experiences from different project stakeholders. As described in this paper, these issues lead us to the proposal of an argumentation-based approach for collaborative risk management. Our approach is founded on the integrated exploitation of a well-defined communication protocol and a set of argumentation schemes, both designed for the development of typical risk management tasks. While this dialogue protocol is concerned with the organized interaction of multiple project stakeholders, argumentation schemes for risk management are directed to the capture and reuse of experience-based users' arguments in risk management debates. To illustrate the usability of these resources, a web-based Risk Discussion System for the collaborative development of risk management activities is described. Results from an evaluation experiment confirm the applicability of this enhanced approach for risk management.