Compendium (software)
| Company type | Nonprofit organization |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software development |
| Founded | 1990s |
| Founder | Al Selvin, Maarten Sierhuis |
| Products | Compendium (software) |
Compendium is a computer program and tool utilized in social science that aids in the visualization and management of ideas and arguments. It offers a graphical platform designed to organize and document collaborative efforts addressing intricate challenges.
Created by the nonprofit Compendium Institute, this software implements the issue-based information system (IBIS), an argument mapping methodology developed by Horst Rittel during the 1970s. Compendium extends IBIS by incorporating hypertext capabilities alongside compatibility with database systems.
The complete source code was released under the GNU Lesser General Public License on 13 January 2009. Although it is no longer under active development, Compendium continues to be accessible for download.
Applications
Compendium visualizes concepts as nodes represented by labeled icons, which include categories such as issues/questions, ideas/answers, arguments, references, and decisions, illustrating their interrelations. It supports a variety of business applications like issue mapping during meetings, design rationale, requirements analysis, management of meetings (including agendas and minutes), tracking action items and issues, requirements oversight, classification systems, templates, and reference collections such as personal knowledge repositories.
The tool facilitates collaborative idea documentation through visual diagramming. It is particularly compatible with the group facilitation technique known as dialogue mapping.
Critical thinking templates enable users to build argument maps based on argumentation frameworks developed by experts like Douglas N. Walton, Chris Reed, and Fabrizio Macagno. These frameworks provide predefined reasoning structures accompanied by critical questions to assess argument validity. Through these templates, Compendium users can thoroughly examine claims to uncover logical frameworks and improve the quality of discussions.
Features
Compendium offers ten standard node categories: question, answer, list view, map view, pro, con, note, decision, reference, and argument. It supports three types of connections between nodes: associative, transclusive, and categorical. Users can embed images within views, nodes, or backgrounds. Notable features include:
- Drag-and-drop functionality for documents and websites onto maps
- Customizable icon positioning
- Keyword tagging capabilities
- Mapping and labeling relationships between concepts
- Tools for collaborative dialogue and argument mapping
- Templates for issues and problems
- Sharing of learning pathways
- Organization of extensive information collections
- Sequencing resources to create learning progressions
Compendium can be operated using either its built-in Apache Derby database or an external MySQL relational database system. When paired with MySQL, the software supports networking features, concurrent access, and multiple simultaneous views.
History
The origins of Compendium trace back to over fifteen years of co-development beginning in the mid-1990s by Al Selvin and Maarten Sierhuis at NYNEX Science & Technology. Its conceptual basis lies in Horst Rittel’s 1970s IBIS framework. Selvin and Sierhuis built upon Jeff Conklin's earlier hypertext issue mapping tools such as gIBIS and QuestMap.
Development efforts involved collaboration with organizations including Blue Oxen Associates, Center for Creative Leadership, the Open University's Knowledge Media Institute, Verizon, CogNexus Institute, and Agent iSolutions. In 2012, the user community initiated CompendiumNG to continue advancing the software’s development.
See also
- Argument map
- Concept map
- Graph database
- Issue tree
- Knowledge base
- List of concept- and mind-mapping software