Title
A Modular Decision-centric Approach for Reusable Design Processes
Abstract
The reusability of design processes modeled in existing Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) frameworks has been limited to the level of flow charts or activity-based diagrams that serve as planning and organizational aids. Current simulation-based design frameworks provide limited support for reuse of design processes at a level where design processes are networks of computational operations, specifically the capabilities to reuse (a) design processes for different products, and (b) collaborative design strategies. In this article, we address these limitations by providing a modeling approach for simulation-based design processes so that they can be archived in a generic modular fashion and reused for collaborative design of different products. The proposed approach is based on four foundations: (a) modeling design processes as hierarchical systems, (b) separation of declarative and procedural information, (c) modeling design processes as decision-centric activities, and (d) modeling interactions between decision makers using game theoretic protocols. These four fundamentals of the approach are instantiated in the form of generic computational templates for products, processes, decisions, and pertinent interfaces. The approach is illustrated using a proof of concept implementation in ModelCenter. The implementation is validated by showing the reusability of design processes for two different products, a spring and a pressure vessel, in individual and collaborative design scenarios. The approach has potential for supporting reusability of broader PLM processes.
Year
DOI
Venue
2009
10.1177/1063293X09102251
CONCURRENT ENGINEERING-RESEARCH AND APPLICATIONS
Keywords
DocType
Volume
design processes,templates,reusability,decision-centric design,modularity,collaboration
Journal
17.0
Issue
ISSN
Citations 
1.0
1063-293X
6
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.66
0
5
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Jitesh H. Panchal15514.62
Marco Gero Fernández2232.75
Christiaan J. J. Paredis351956.69
Janet K. Allen4539.09
Farrokh Mistree56610.11