Formalisms for Negotiation in Engineering

Engineering projects often undergo several design iterations before being completed. Information received from other groups working on a project (analysis, manufacturing, marketing, sales) will often necessitate changes in a design. The interaction between diierent groups associated with a design project often takes the form of informal \negotiation." This form of interaction commonly arises when engineering information is imprecise. The Method of Imprecision (M o I) is a formal method for the representation and manipulation of preliminary and imprecise design information. It provides a mechanism for the formalization of these informal negotiations. The nature and scope of informal negotiation in engineering is explored and discussed, and application of the M o I is illustrated with an example.