Integrating diverse information resources in a case-based design environment

The success of case-based design aids depends both on the case-based reason ing processes they apply and on effectively integrating those processes int o the larger task context, on making the case-based reasoning component pre sent case information at the right time and in the right way, on exploiting additional information resources as needed to supplement the case library and to guide case application, on capturing useful information from current reasoning and providing it to up- and down-stream designers, and on unobtr usively learning new cases during the design process. This article presents a set of principles and techniques for integrated case-based design suppor t systems and illustrates their application through a case study of the Sta mping Advisor, a system to support feasibility analysis for sheet metal aut omotive parts. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.