A collaborative system for capturing and reusing in-context design knowledge with an integrated representation model

Current research on design knowledge capture and reuse has predominantly focused on either the codification view of knowledge or the personalisation view of knowledge, resulting in a failure to address designers’ knowledge needs caused by a lack of context of information and insufficient computational support. Precisely motivated by this gap, this work aims to address the integration of these two views into a complete, contextual and trustworthy knowledge management scheme enabled by the emerging collaborative technologies. Specifically, a knowledge model is developed to represent an integrated knowledge space, which can combine geometric model, knowledge-based analysis codes and problem-solving strategies and processes. On this basis, a smart collaborative system is also designed and developed to streamline the design process as well as to facilitate knowledge capture, retrieval and reuse as users with different roles are working on various tasks within this process. An engineering case study is undertaken to demonstrate the idea of collaborative knowledge creation and sharing and evaluate the effectiveness of the knowledge representation model and the collaborative technologies employed. As evidenced in the development and evaluation, the methods proposed are effective for capturing an integrated knowledge space and the collaborative knowledge management system not only facilitates problem-solving using knowledge-based analysis but also supplies in-context tacit knowledge captured from the communications between users throughout the design process.     

On technology for functional requirement-based reference design retrieval in engineering knowledge management

Engineering design is a knowledge-intensive process, and includes conceptual design, detailed design, engineering analysis, assembly design, process design, and performance evaluation. Each of these tasks involves various aspects of technical knowledge and experience. Whether this technical knowledge and experience can be effectively shared is key to increasing product development capability and quality, and also to reducing the duration and cost of the development cycle. Consequently, providing engineering designers various query methods for retrieving engineering knowledge is one of the most important tasks in engineering knowledge management.The study develops a technology for functional requirement-based reference design retrieval as a decision support mechanism, which can assist engineering designers to retrieve relevant design and associated knowledge for reference in conducting functional requirements of a product. This study involves the following tasks: (i) designing a functional requirement-based reference design retrieval process, (ii) developing techniques related to the technology for functional requirement-based reference design retrieval, and (iii) implementing a functional requirement-based reference design retrieval mechanism. The retrieval process includes the steps of functional requirement-based query, case searching and matching, and case ranking. The technology involves (i) a structured query model for functional requirements, (ii) an index structures for historical design cases, (iii) functional requirement-based case searching and matching mechanisms, (iv) a functional requirement-based case ranking mechanism, and (v) a case-based representation of designed entities. Finally, the experimental example with indexing and retrieving similar designed entities is conducted to demonstrate the proposed techniques worked efficiently.     

A framework to integrate design knowledge reuse and requirements management in engineering design

This paper presents a framework to integrate requirements management and design knowledge reuse. The research approach begins with a literature review in design reuse and requirements management to identify appropriate methods within each domain. A framework is proposed based on the identified requirements. The framework is then demonstrated using a case study example: vacuum pump design. Requirements are presented as a component of the integrated design knowledge framework. The proposed framework enables the application of requirements management as a dynamic process, including capture, analysis and recording of requirements. It takes account of the evolving requirements and the dynamic nature of the interaction between requirements and product structure through the various stages of product development.     

Causal design knowledge: Alternative representation method for product development knowledge management

This paper presents a mathematical comparison of procedural knowledge and causal knowledge, and discusses the potential roles and feasibility of causal knowledge across product development knowledge management. Since reuse of knowledge is so important in product development, various knowledge management approaches have been introduced. Most of the product design knowledge is represented by procedural knowledge, which unfortunately requires cumbersome processes to define, and is typically inadequate for representing the kind of knowledge generated during the product development process. A causal knowledge representation, however, can help us to overcome this limitation and is an alternative formalism for representing product design knowledge. In this paper we compare the procedural and causal knowledge representations. We present the mathematical definitions of two knowledge paradigms, then mathematically describe the relationship between the two. Both knowledge paradigms are then compared based on the perspective of knowledge expression, decision alternative representation, reasoning capability, and knowledge cultivation. This paper concludes that causal knowledge representation is superior to procedural knowledge representation based on the four perspectives. Finally, the knowledge systems are modeled using Systems Modeling Language (SysML), and we present a case study that demonstrates the causal knowledge features using a realistic example from industry.     

An approach to capturing and reusing tacit design knowledge using relational learning for knowledge graphs

Tacit design knowledge plays an important role in the process of product design and is a valuable knowledge asset for enterprises. In terms of the characteristics of tacit rational design knowledge, this paper puts forward a scientific hypothesis and approach on capturing and reusing tacit rational design knowledge. The presented approach represents the observable design result facts of products using design knowledge graphs. A design issue-solving oriented knowledge graph model is presented, where directed relation edges represent design issues, and nodes stand for design solutions. When a new design solutions requirement needs to be searched, tacit design knowledge can be reused by relational learning for the constructed design knowledge graphs. In relational learning, the design knowledge graph is converted into a three-order tensor, where two modes are solution nodes, and the third mode holds the issue relations. Then, a tensor factorization approach is employed to calculate the latent features between design solutions for an issue relation. As a result, a score vector to represent the existence of issue-solution relations can be obtained. By sorting the scores in descending order, we may select the solution node with the highest score as the design solution to be searched. Finally, a stamping die design case study is provided. The case study shows that the proposed approach is feasible, and effective, and has better flexibility, scalability and efficiency than CBR methods.     

An agent-based approach to knowledge management in distributed design

The collaboration process among individuals with heterogeneous skills in a distributed virtual environment represents a crucial element of the extended enterprise. In order to achieve global optima in design, there is an increasing need for design teams to establish and maintain cooperative work through effective communication, co-location, coordination and collaboration at the knowledge level. Because of the distributed nature of users and information resources involved in the design process, the need for appropriate knowledge management tools is imperative. This paper proposes an agent-based architecture to support multi-disciplinary design teams that cooperate in a distributed design environment (DDE). Using ontologies and multi-agent systems (MAS), the proposed framework aims to optimise design process operation and management by supporting the dialogue among distributed design actors. Received: February 2005/Accepted: January 2006     

A knowledge engineering approach to knowledge management

Knowledge management facilitates the capture, storage, and dissemination of knowledge using information technology. Methods for managing knowledge have become an important issue in the past few decades, and the KM community has developed a wide range of technologies and applications for both academic research and practical applications. In this paper, we propose a knowledge engineering approach (KMKE) to knowledge management. First, a knowledge modeling approach is used to organize and express various types of knowledge in a unified knowledge representation. Second, a verification mechanism is used to verify knowledge models based on the formal semantics of the knowledge representation. Third, knowledge models are classified and stored in a hierarchical ontology system. Fourth, a knowledge query language is designed to enhance the dissemination of knowledge. Finally, a knowledge update process is applied to modify the knowledge storage with respect to users’ needs. A knowledge management system for computer repair is used as an illustrative example.     

Information management for integrated design environments

This paper identifies requirements for an engineering design information management system. Future CAD systems must support a wide range of activities — such as definition, manipulation and analyses of complex product information models. These models represent not only conventional data associated with current CAD applications, but also design information characterizing the correlations between the requirements, functions, behaviors and physical form of the product. Such functionality is important for both the individual designer and the design organization, as the need to manage information as a corporate asset is becoming a critical component of business strategy. This paper explores these needs using two design studies. The first study illustrates some major concepts relative to non-routine design activities, while the second study focuses on the routine design activities relative to organization interactions. These studies were used to elicit high level requirements which serve as the basis for the development of prototype software systems. These prototypes are briefly introduced here.     

Developing a multi-layer reference design retrieval technology for knowledge management in engineering design

Engineering design is a knowledge-intensive process that encompasses conceptual design, detailed design, engineering analysis, assembly design, process design, and performance evaluation. Each of these tasks involves various areas of knowledge and experience. The sharing of such knowledge and experience is critical to increasing the capacity for developing products and to increasing their quality. It is also critical to reducing the duration and cost of the development cycle. Accordingly, offering engineering designers various methods for retrieving engineering knowledge is one of the most important tasks in managing engineering knowledge.

This study develops a multi-layer reference design retrieval technology for engineering knowledge management to provide engineering designers with easy access to relevant design and related knowledge. The tasks performed in this research include (i) designing a multi-layer reference design retrieval process, (ii) developing techniques associated with multi-layer reference design retrieval technology, and (iii) implementing a multi-layer reference design retrieval mechanism. The retrieval process contains three main phases—‘customer requirement-based reference design retrieval’, ‘functional requirement-based reference design retrieval’ and ‘functional feature-based reference design retrieval’. This technology involves (1) customer requirement-based reference design retrieval, which involves a structured query model for customer requirements, a case-based representation of designed entities, a customer requirement-based index structure for historical design cases, and customer requirement-based case searching, matching and ranking mechanisms, (2) functional requirement-based reference design retrieval, which includes a structured query model for functional requirements, a functional requirement-based index structure for historical design cases, and functional requirement-based case searching, matching and ranking mechanisms, and (3) functional feature-based reference design retrieval, which is a binary code-based representation for functional features, an ART1 neural network for functional feature-based case clustering and functional feature-based case ranking.     

A hypernetwork-based context-aware approach for design lesson-learned knowledge proactive feedback in design for manufacturing

Design lesson-learned knowledge (DLK) clearly describes various design quality problems exposed in past manufacturing stages, solutions and preventive measures. If knowledge management system could proactively feed DLK back into design process, many previous quality problems would be avoided, thus helping designers better implement design for manufacturing (DFM) in a smarter manner. However, since design quality problems are not pointed out in design process, problem-relevant information extracted from design contexts might be inaccurate. In this situation, traditional context-aware approach is prone to acquire design quality problems that designers do not need. Facing these challenges, a hypernetwork-based context-aware DLK proactive feedback approach is proposed to construct hypernetwork-based DLK representation model and predict possible design quality problems in the design process, thus providing corresponding DLK and helping designers reduce the reoccurrence of previous quality problems in DFM. Specifically, hypernetwork-based DLK representation model is first constructed, which consists of designer context network, task context network and DLK network. Based on this model, a context-aware collaborative reason strategy is constructed to predict possible design quality problems according to complex design contexts. To validate the proposed approach, a practical product development case on the shipbuilding design is implemented, and some comparative experiments are conducted. Experiment results show the proposed approach is effective and has a positive performance in DFM. It is anticipated this work opens up a promising way to help designers reuse DLK for reducing the reoccurrence of previous design quality problems in a smarter manner, thus better implementation of DFM.     

A design methodology for form-based knowledge reuse and representation

Paper forms are regularly used for collecting and disseminating knowledge in offices; they are a natural way of eliciting requirements of knowledge workers. Many organizations have implemented a groupware system to integrate the organizational knowledge and support knowledge creation. However, design methods for flexible form-based knowledge reuse and representation are limited. We developed a methodology based on the enhanced cognitive fit theory; it utilizes factoring and synthesis principles to manipulate form-based knowledge. The methodology was articulated using the design science research methodology. A prototype embedded methodology was built to support a knowledge worker in knowledge creation and reuse in a high tech firm. The resulting system allowed flexible form-based knowledge creation that was useful for problem solving and exploiting opportunities. Implications and conclusions are discussed.     

An approach to user knowledge acquisition in product design

As the world increasingly moves towards a knowledge-based economy, user requirements become an important factor for enterprises to drive product collaborative design evolution. To map user requirements to the product model, user requirements are generally extracted into knowledge that can be used for design decisions. However, because users are interest-driven participants and not professional design engineers, the effect of user knowledge acquisition is not ideal. There are significant challenges for rapid knowledge acquisition with dynamic user requirements. This paper presents an approach to user knowledge acquisition in the product design process, which obtains the tangible requirements of users under the premise that users are adequate for participation. In this approach, the typical information flow is divided into four stages: submission, interaction, knowledge discovery, and model evolution. In the submission stage, natural language processing technology is used to transform text form solutions into data, so that computer technology can be applied to manage large-scale user requirements. In the interaction stage, users are helped to improve their solutions by the iterative recommendation process. In the knowledge discovery stage, after less concerned partial solutions are removed and vacant items are predicted to be supplemented, the final collection of user design information is obtained. Finally, based on rough set theory, design knowledge can be extracted to support the decision of the product model. The washing machine design project is used as a case study to explain the implementation of the proposed approach.     

A process knowledge representation approach for decision support in design of complex engineered systems

Process knowledge is of considerable significance to the digitalization and intelligentization of the manufacturing industry. Current research on the process knowledge representation of decision-making in engineering design has predominantly focused on either mathematical models of individual decisions at the micro-level or organizational models of group decision consensus at the macro-level. However, the management of complexity and uncertainty in the model-based realization of engineered systems is critical to achieving rational, comprehensive, and robust decisions, especially in terms of knowledge-intensive design. The efficiency and effectiveness of decisions in system design are intrinsically linked to the process, knowledge, and system concepts involved, necessitating a more flexible and systematic decision process representation scheme that supports both the management of complexity and uncertainty. Hence, in this paper, we propose a decision-centric design process representation scheme named the Phase-Event-Information X (PEI-X) diagram and its corresponding systematic design guidance method for designing decision workflows. Using the proposed method, designers have the ability to (1) model hierarchical decision processes that cover vertical and horizontal interaction patterns, and (2) exploit the synthesis of the “Formulating-Identifying-Reusing-Exploring” iterative process to extend the understanding and prediction of decision process behaviors in design. We achieve the aforesaid abilities through the implementation of a knowledge-based design guidance system for collaborative decision support and we demonstrate the efficacy by adopting a specific multi-stage manufacturing process design problem, hot rod rolling system design, and carry out an integrated design of materials, products, and related manufacturing processes.     

Process-aware approach for managing organisational knowledge

Knowledge is currently considered an asset for organisations. In this new paradigm, Knowledge Management (KM) is emerging as an unavoidable activity for organisations. Information and communications technologies, together with business policies, become a tool par excellence for supporting the creation of KM platforms that provide access to organisation knowledge resources such as workers, technical reports, software applications, and business documents. In spite of the benefits provided by current KM platforms, most of them were designed to manage a single type of knowledge (tacit or explicit) without considering either the form in which organisational areas need knowledge to be provided (reactive or proactive) or the integration with business processes. This work presents a process-aware approach to develop KM platforms linked to business processes with semantic capability to manage knowledge objects with natural language content as well as to support social interactions and ad hoc working groups. To this aim, a comprehensive analysis of influencing-KM factors to be addressed by technological solutions is considered by a set of technological requirements. Based on these requirements, a model that provides the main components to be addressed by KM approaches is specified and implemented by a technological platform. This platform goes after a balance between technological and social aspects that support and promote collaboration and communication among organisation members.     

Evaluation of knowledge management tools using AHP

This paper presents an application of the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) used to select the most appropriate tool to support knowledge management (KM). This method adopts a multi-criteria approach that can be used to analyse and compare KM tools in the software market. The method is based on pairwise comparisons between several factors that affect the selection of the most appropriate KM tool. An AHP model is formulated and applied to a real case of assisting decision-makers in a leading communications company in Hong Kong to evaluate a suitable KM tool. We believe that the application shown can be of use to managers and that, because of its ease of implementation, others can benefit from this approach.     

Innovating by accessing knowledge across departments

It is widely believed that individuals are more likely to be innovative if they are exposed to different perspectives and domains. While it is purported that knowledge management systems can help, they have generally failed to do so, because there are significant thought world barriers associated with the different perspectives and domains that individuals have to overcome. Using the theory of thought worlds as a theoretical lens, we examined how innovative engineers successfully accessed knowledge from other functional departments. We found that the way they accessed the knowledge had implications for designing knowledge management technology specifically focused on fostering innovation.     

Supporting management and maintenance of manufacturing knowledge in design automation systems

Many companies base their business strategy on customized products. To enable a high level of product adaptation in an engineer-to-order approach companies invest time and resources to develop design automation systems. Initially, when implementing a design automation system, the focus is on successfully developing a system that generates design variants based on different customer specifications (i.e. the execution of system embedded knowledge and system output). However, in the long run, two important aspects are the management and maintenance of the knowledge that governs the designs. Further, the increasing emphasis on deploying a holistic view of a product’s properties and functions implies an increasing number of life-cycle requirements. The knowledge to adapt the product to fulfil these requirements should also be used and consequently incorporated into the knowledge-base, allowing for correct decisions to be made. In a system for automated variant design, the implications on the product of these life-cycle requirements have to be expressed as algorithms, production rules and/or computational statements to be intertwined with the design calculations. The number of requirements can be significantly large, and the knowledge scattered over different application systems used for the realisation of the design automation system. This makes it difficult to manage and maintain the system as the product life-cycle environment changes and evolves.In this article, the focus is on the requirements related to manufacturing. For that, an approach for the modelling of manufacturing requirements, supporting both knowledge execution and information management, in systems for automated variant design is introduced. The approach has been applied and refined when developing a design automation system in cooperation with a company to demonstrate and verify the approach’s usability.     

A part affordance-based approach for capturing detailed design knowledge

Design knowledge reuse is widely accepted as an effective strategy for designers to develop robust artifacts with less time and lower cost. However, there has been very little research on how to help designers capture detailed design knowledge for reuse. As a result, most detailed design knowledge still has to remain in designers’ memories as tacit knowledge, which can easily get lost due to oblivion or the mobility of designers. Therefore, this paper attempts to develop a part affordance-based approach for externalizing and capturing detailed design knowledge for effective reuse. It first introduces a part model for representing the detailed design-related information. Based on the relational theory for design, the concept, part affordance, is then employed to help designers externalize and capture various lifecycle factors that are implicit in a detailed design. Based on the affordance constraint axiom, a systematic approach is then proposed for deriving tacit design knowledge from captured part affordances through the analysis of extreme working situations. The proposed approach has been implemented as the Design Knowledge-Capturing System (DKCS). A fixture design case has been employed to illustrate the proposed approach.     

Capturing design rationale

The subject of this paper is the Design Rationale editor (DRed). This is a simple and unobtrusive software tool that allows engineering designers to record their rationale as the design proceeds. DRed is one of the latest of many derivatives of the venerable IBIS concept. Thus it allows the issues addressed, options considered, plus associated pro and con arguments, to be captured in the form of a directed graph of dependencies. The research was conducted in close collaboration with, deployed, and tested in a major multinational aerospace company. The paper describes the main features of the tool, by means of a real design example from the company. It then examines the methodology and process by which the tool was researched, implemented and introduced into industrial practice. Finally, DRed is compared with other IBIS-based software, to identify and explain how it addresses problems that seem to have made earlier tools unsuitable for routine use by designers. Simplicity seems to be a key factor for real world acceptance of such tools.     

Knowledge management of product design: A requirements-oriented knowledge management framework based on Kansei engineering and knowledge map

For the knowledge management of product design, knowledge innovation is the foundation and motivation for the independent innovation and enhancing the core competitiveness. Most of the product knowledge exists in the brain of designers. How to obtain the required knowledge accurately in massive knowledge database becomes the key to knowledge innovation. However, the design knowledge based on consumer’s requirement has not been extensively studied. There is no consensus on the reasonable and effective implementation of the knowledge management framework to select the optimum design knowledge based on the consumer’s requirements. In this study, to efficiently realize the knowledge acquisition and knowledge selection, a requirements-oriented knowledge management model is established, with the advantage of Kansei engineering in knowledge acquisition and multi-objective decision-making in knowledge selection. Finally, the outdoor leisure chairs design is used as a case study to explain the implementation of the knowledge management framework. To reveal the advantages of the framework, it was compared with other frameworks. The results show that the proposed knowledge management framework is more efficient and provided a method of designers to acquire design knowledge based on the consumer’s requirements.