Title: Modelling and applying constraint relations in a product family data model

Authors: Stephen C. Chan, Stanley C. Shek, John W. Lee

Addresses: Department of Computing, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Horn, Hong Kong. ' SKYLAB System Development Company, Unit 1102, 11/F President Commercial Centre, 608 Nathan Road, Mongkok, Hong Kong. ' Depart ment of Computing, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Horn, Hong Kong

Abstract: A customer purchasing a product may select one variant among the several alternatives available for a component, and may select one among the many options available for a feature. The variants and options selected, in turn, may determine the available variants and options for other components and features, because of dependency relations among them. This paper describes and classifies common dependency relations among features and components, extends the ODMG data model to support such a data model, describes a graphical notation for representing the data model, and discusses several useful applications based on the data model that assist the customer in selecting these options and variants.

Keywords: constraint relations; data model; product families; dependency relations; variant selection; product variants; feature selection; product features.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCAT.1999.004739

International Journal of Computer Applications in Technology, 1999 Vol.12 No.1, pp.27 - 38

Published online: 07 Jul 2004 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article