Why Ask-ED?
The idea started as a bit of an experiment – ED (not short for Edward – but Enterprise Design) would be able to answer questions using AI and “learned” ideas from Enterprise Design practice and provide text or diagrammatic answers. Great except anyone who has modelled knows that this in itself is an important process, AI can’t replace the human creative and engineering process of discovery, modelling and mapping.
For meaningful EDGY modelling, boards and canvases are great – until they are not, until more time is spent remembering “where is that element and which board is it on?” They work well for Initial design and work-shopping but as a project grows, if you decide a repo is needed, usually the only option is to duplicate effort, or switch tools. Not great – for you or your team, and worse; the playful, beautiful simplicity of EDGY is lost. EA repository tools that support EDGY are also great but require a big lead-up time to start using effectively, not client / user friendly and they come with their own complexities that sometimes are more than the engagement / team requires.
We built Ask-ED as we saw the need for a sweet spot – simple, intuitive and element focussed drag and drop modelling (pure, native, and only EDGY) with the benefits of a repository but without the usual overheads and complexity. Just enough preferences and layout options not to get in the way, automated analysis and metrics (when and where they make sense) and simple change impact – “what if” analysis. ED survives as a chatbot and can be used for quick questions, “what elements are in the Architecture Facet?, which Elements have negative metrics?”, or just list all Elements from a given Facet and create an output list.
Happy modelling!
Matt
The Community Edition is provided “as is” and is intended for evaluation and non‑production use. Features, limits, and behaviour may change without notice, and some enterprise features may be restricted or unavailable. You are responsible for validating outputs and ensuring compliance with your organization’s policies and any applicable laws. Use of third‑party services (e.g., LLM providers) is subject to their own terms and privacy practices. The Community Edition does not include warranties, service level commitments, or support guarantees.
