A problem-solving approach to product design using decision tree induction based on intuitionistic fuzzy

0377-2217/$ see front matter 2008 Elsevier B.V. A doi:10.1016/j.ejor.2008.03.009 * Tel.: +886 2 26212121. E-mail address: [email protected] Customer complaint problem is a product design used to understand customer requirements. Furthermore, product design corresponding to customer requirement does not feel adequately solved for a cause of problem. The cause of the problem affecting product design is solved to prevent customer complaint from reoccurring. However, the problems by customer may have observation uncertainty and fuzzy. Fuzzy concept considers not only the degree of membership to an accept set, but also the degree of non-membership to a rejection set. Therefore, we present a new approach for problem solving using decision tree induction based on intuitionistic fuzzy sets in this paper. Under this approach, we first develop the problem formulation for the symptoms and causes of the problem based on intuitionistic fuzzy sets. Next, we identify the cause of the problem using intuitionistic fuzzy decision tree by the problem formulation. We then provide the approach to find the optimal cause of the problem for the consideration of product design. A numerical example is used to illustrate the approach applied for product design. 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.