DESIGN SUPPORT SYSTEMS FOR PROCESS ENGINEERING .1. REQUIREMENTS AND PROPOSED SOLUTIONS FOR A DESIGN PROCESS REPRESENTATION

Design is an important engineering activity, arguably the most importa nt, because it is the basis for developing new products. An effective design support system can enhance the design process, and thus improve the design product. A number of requirements make the development of a design support system a complex task; useful and directed assistance requires a representation of the design process to be kept in a compu table form. The system should furthermore have the flexibility to prov ide support for exploration, evolution, cooperation, and integration. The described work addresses the above issues, and proposes solutions for their achievement using the exploration-based model of design of S mithers et al. and the hierarchical decision procedure of Douglas. It proposes a fundamentally new representation consisting of three interc onnected networks for the design objectives, alternatives, and models respectively, and examines the behaviour or functionality they must pr ovide. Expected benefits from this representation are maintenance of c onsistency during the design process; dependency-directed redesign or retrofit; reuse of parts of the artifact or the design methodology; en hanced documentation and explanation of the system's actions or advice ; representation of multiple points of veiw and their interactions; an d eased verification, modification and maintenance of the design produ ct.