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Taxonomy for classifying engineering decision problems and support systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 February 2009

David G. Ullman  and
Bruce D'Ambrosio
David G. Ullman
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Bruce D'Ambrosio
Affiliation:
Department of Computer Science, Oregon State University, Corvaltis, OR 97331-4602, U.S.A.
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Abstract

The design of even the simplest product requires thousands of decisions. Yet few of these decisions are supported with methods on paper or on computers. Is this because engineering design decisions do not need support or is it because techniques have yet to be developed that are usable on a wide basis? In considering this question a wide range of decision problem characteristics need to be addressed. In engineering design some decisions are made by individuals, others by teams – some are about the product and others about the processes that support the product – some are based on complete, consistent, quantitative data and others on sparse, conflicting, qualitative discussions. To address the reasons why so little support is used and the characteristics of potentially useful decision support tools, a taxonomy of decision characteristics is proposed. This taxonomy is used to classify current techniques and to define the requirements for an ideal engineering design decision support system.

Keywords

Decision SupportOptimizationUtility TheoryPERT
Type
Articles
Information
AI EDAM , Volume 9 , Issue 5 , November 1995 , pp. 427 - 438
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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