The Round Trip Problem : A Solution for the Process Handbook

This thesis addresses a problem which arises when different computer systems attempt to share data through an interchange format. Let us suppose that the format has a provision for storing system-specific data. After one system exports a file in this format, a second system importing the file may find it inconvenient or impossible to accommodate data specific to the first. While this loss of information is understandable in a one-way exchange, the real problem occurs when the data is reimported into the originating system. When a file is exported by the second for import by the first, we will have lost any systemspecific data with which we began. This is the "round trip problem," the loss of information during the exchange of data between two systems. In this thesis, I describe the round trip problem as it is encountered in the Process Handbook project, where process data is exchanged between handbook prototypes using the Process Interchange Format (PIF). I propose a solution based on the concept of the companion file. I then describe the PIF toolkit, a code library that serves as the foundation for translators that apply this solution. Finally, I demonstrate the feasibility of the solution through PIF translators built using the toolkit. Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Thomas W. Malone Title: Patrick J. McGovern Professor of Information Systems Director, Center for Coordination Science