Our group is interested in the design of composite systems, ones that encompass multiple agents involved in ongoing, interactive activities. We have begun to formalize an approach to composite system design by decomposing problem statements. This involves (1) identifying and formalizing general tactics for decomposing problem statements, and (2) identifying knowledge which we could use to critique problem decompositions.

This paper focuses on the latter problem, that of critiquing problem decompositions. We describe a method for generating critiques using knowledge encoded as failure scenarios. We illustrate the method by showing how it rationalizes specific steps in a published development example. We then discuss the research issues raised by this example.