Mapping Multi-Disciplinary Design Processes

This paper describes research in progress whose goal is to synthesize design methodologies for rapid product development in multi-disciplinary design situations. The potential outcome is superior design methodologies that facilitate integration and collaboration between different disciplines, conduct design tasks concurrently, and apply to a wide range of design problems, thus reducing costs and time-to-market. The approach is based on simulating the design process using a multi-agent system that mimics the behavior of the design team. The multi-agent system activates the pieces of design knowledge when they become applicable. The use of knowledge by agents is recorded by tracing the steps that the agents have taken during a design project. Many traces are generated by solving a large number of design projects that differ in their requirements. A set of design methodologies is constructed by using clustering and abstraction techniques to generalize the traces generated. These methodologies then can be used to guide design teams through future design projects.