This book presents, illustrates and empirically validates a new approach to modeling and explaining the nature of engineering design; the Recursive Model of Framing in Design (RFD). The RFD model offers a formalization of a grey area in design science by viewing the design process as a recursive interaction of problem framing and problem solving.

Addressing the absence of any formalizations of the interactions occurring within this complex reasoning operation up to now, RFD expresses the existing knowledge in a formal and structured manner based on a cognitive phenomenon known as (reflective) solution talkback.

The book explores several schemas implied by the model, making the interactive patterns of the design process explicit and further elaborating to reflect the empirical results.

Including examples of how the RFD model has been used in designing user-focused environments for web and semantic web navigations, this volume will be of particular interest to those interested in designing and working with new semantic web applications.