Where does the name gestaltware come from?
The term gestalt is most often used to describe a theory of psychology that derives from aesthetics and, ultimately from the Design Revolution of the Renaissance. In a gross oversimplification, gestalt theory posits that it is important to think of problems (and in particular, consciousness) as a whole.
As inspiration for the name gestaltware, we similarly take the big picture first: sound application design demands the information architecture must be established before a single line of code is written. Consequently, all of our consulting engagements involve business process investigation and analysis as an initial stage, and most also include qualitative and quantitative user research.
gestalt has also been used to describe a web of collective consciousness or linking of minds, such as in science fiction works featuring psionics. This latter definition also serves as inspiration for the name gestaltware, as we view the foundation of our solutions a gestalt of open source components and the open source movement itself a gestalt of like-minds.
