A method or a software application which is used to assign artifacts of technical systems to the process steps required to produce them, wherein the assignments comprise annotations, and the method provides an editor for the annotations. A graphical user interface is also provided, which can be used to visualize the artifacts (e.g., documents describing structural elements) of the technical system and individual process steps (or entire process cycles) and to input the annotations between the two in graphical or tabular form and process them. Pre-existing special knowledge in the domain and the craft relating to plant engineering is acquired, processed, preserved and imparted using the method of the invention. The method advantageously provides effective support for document and configuration management, where CAD and project management tools are integrated to give a systematic IT landscape without media clashes.