Help:Contents:Quick Start

From Cicero

Contents 1 About Cicero 2 Getting Access and Log In 3 Participating in a Discussion 3.1 Creating an Issue 3.2 The Issue Page 3.3 The Discussion Page 3.3.1 Contributing to a Discussion 3.4 Taking a Decision

About Cicero

Cicero is a web-based tool which supports asynchronous discussions between several participants. This social software application is based on the idea of Issue Based Information Systems (IBIS) and the DILIGENT argumentation framework. The DILIGENT argumentation framework was adapted for Cicero in order to make it easier applicable on discussions and in order to reduce the learning effort by users.

The discussions in Cicero are organized in projects. Each discussion starts with definining the issue or problem that should be discussed. After that, concrete solutions of the issue can be proposed and be discussed with the help of supporting or objecting arguments. Furthermore, Cicero also defines a workflow for coming to a decision. For this purpose, it offers different decision procedures like preferential voting or that a responsible person is allowed for making decisions.

Getting Access and Log In

To log into the Wiki press the link on the upper right corner of the main page (Log in/ create account). It will show you an interface to put in your user name and password. If you don't have an account yet, create one using the appropriate link on the login page. While creating a new account you have to specify an email address. An email will be send to you containing a link for the verification of the new account. This address will also be used for notifications later on.

After you have successfully logged into the system you will be redirected to the main page. From there you can access all available discussion projects in Cicero. Clicking on one of the links will bring you to the overview page of the corresponding project. It depends on the configuration of the actual project how to further proceed:

1. Anonymous access is allowed. In this case, also anonymous users (i.e. users that are not logged in) have read access to all discussions related to the project. Getting write access always requires to have a login.
2. Self-registration is allowed. In this case, logged-in users can register themself for getting write access to the project. If this option is activated for a project, the user sees a corresponding message on the overview page of the project (see Fig. 1). After registering, you have the rights of a plain project member (i.e. usually one has read and write access for the discussions).

1. Self-registration is not allowed. In this case, one has to contact the responsible person of a project for getting access to the discussions of a project. Usually, it should be stated on the overview page of a project who is the responsible person. If the self-registration is deactivated, the user sees a corresponding message on the overview page of the project (see Fig. 2).

Participating in a Discussion

This is a summary of the more detailed help page about issues.

In Cicero, discussions are organized by the issues that should be discussed. For each issue, an overview page and a discussion page exists. The overview page of an issue can be reached from the project overview page: Either the list of the 10 most recently added issues can be used for accessing an issue (see area 3 in Fig. 3 below) or the options Search for Issues and List all Issues can be used (see area 2 and 3 in Fig. 3 below).

Creating an Issue

New issues can be added by using the corresponding option on the project overview page (see area 2 and 3 in Fig. 3 above). In order to see the Add New Issue option, one needs to have the corresponding access right (see Subsection [[#Getting Access and Login).

Creating a new issue is a simple task in Cicero and can be done very fast. In the form for creating a new issue (see Fig. 4) one only needs to enter a unique title for the issue and an initial description. The description may contain Wiki markup for formatting, including links to related issues or web pages. The issue is then created by clicking on the Save Issue button. The settings and the text describing an issue can later be changed on the overview page of the created issue by clicking on the link to the issue properties.

The Issue Page

As it was described above, the overview page of an issue can be reached from the project overview page. The overview page summarizes the issue under discussion (area 1 in Fig. 5) and all already proposed solutions of the issue (area 2 in Fig. 5).

The Discussion Page

For proposing new solutions or for providing supporting or objecting arguments one has to change to the discussion page of the issue. It can be reached from the issue page either through the tab-bar at the top or through the View Discussion link (area 3 in Fig. 5).

At the top of the discussion page a table of content of the whole discussion is shown for quickly accessing specific solution proposals or arguments (see area 1 in Fig. 6). Directly below the table of contents, the subject of discussion, i. e. the description of the issue, is repeated from the overview page.

Contributing to a Discussion

Below the subject of discussion, the different solution proposals and their supporting or objecting arguments are listed. To make a contribution to the discussion, one has to use the Reply link next to the corresponding heading to which it should refer. Two different kinds of contributions can be distinguished:

• Solution Proposal: As the name says, it proposes a possible solution of the current issue.
• Argument: In principle, an argument can either support or object a specific solution proposal. Three different types of arguments exist:
  • Example: An example corresponds to a pattern that should or should not be imitated (depending on whether its a supporting or objecting example). They are used for illustrating similar cases that may serve as a model for the solution proposal to which they reply.
  • Evaluation: An evaluation gives criteria which help to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a solution proposal.
  • Justification: A justification describes the relevant circumstances that help to understand why a certain solution is supported or objected by the author of the argument.

In Fig. 7, the form for adding an argument to a solution proposal is shown. In the top left drop down list, one can select the argument type and whether it supports or objects the solution proposal to which it replies. In the box below, the argument text can be entered. The text may contain Wiki markup for formatting, including links to external resources or files uploaded to the Wiki.

The different kinds of contributions and how they are related to each other can also be seen in Fig. 8. One can see that solution proposals can only directly reply to the issue while the arguments can only directly reply to a solution proposal. This results in a very flat hierarchy, showing the arguments with a small indent to their solution proposals.

Taking a Decision

After the discussion of an issue has reached a mature state a decision has to be taken. For this purpose, the state of the issue is changed from running to voting (see the user manual for more details). After the decision taking process has been started, the issue is locked for further contributions and a corresponding notification is shown on the issue overview page (see Fig. 9).

Depending on the properties of an issue, the users can either select a single solution proposal or multiple solution proposals during the voting of the decision taking process. The page for casting the ballot (see Fig. 10) can be reached via the link that is shown on the issue overview page (Fig. 9 above).