Abstract
This paper presents an ethnographic study of knowledge reuse in the
architecture/engineering/construction industry. It is observed that reuse occurs largely through
social knowledge networks. Even when reuse from an external repository occurs, a human expert
is usually needed to provide proactive input on what to reuse and contextual information about the
designs being reused. Both of these observations are attributed to the effectiveness of internal
knowledge reuse, the reuse of knowledge from one’s personal experiences. Internal knowledge
reuse is effective because the designer can find items to reuse, and can recall the context of these
items and can therefore understand them. This ethnographic study was used to develop a
corporate memory, a rich, detailed repository of knowledge in context. The corporate memory will
support finding and understanding. Understanding can be brought about by enabling the designer
to explore the project context and evolution history of the found item. These explorations will also
help the designer to manage the tradeoff between productivity and creativity in deciding what to
reuse, by facilitating reuse at the appropriate levels of granularity and abstraction.