Title: Application of context knowledge in supporting conceptual design decision-making

Authors: Fayyaz U. Rehman, Xiu-Tian Yan

Addresses: Department of Design, Manufacture and Engineering Management, University of Strathclyde, James Weir Building, 75 Montrose Street, Glasgow G1 1XJ, UK. ' Department of Design, Manufacture and Engineering Management, University of Strathclyde, James Weir Building, 75 Montrose Street, Glasgow G1 1XJ, UK

Abstract: Conceptual design is the most important phase of the product life cycle, as the decisions taken affect the downstream phases in terms of product cost, quality and function. This research takes a holistic design approach by presenting the context knowledge of a design problem for designers to make an informed decision. The design context knowledge is formalised and a new model and corresponding computational framework is proposed to support conceptual design decision making. A case study for the proof of the concept shows that design context knowledge can be used to support proactively an informed and effective decision making in concept selection.

Keywords: conceptual design; decision making; context knowledge; product life cycle; product design; product development; concept selection.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPD.2011.037594

International Journal of Product Development, 2011 Vol.13 No.1, pp.47 - 66

Published online: 27 Feb 2015 *

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