Design Problem Solving

1 Introduction 1.1 What is the Book About? 1.2 Artificial Intelligence Vs. Traditional Computational Methods 1.3 Generic Tasks: Expert Systems Beyond Rules and Frames 1.3.1 Characterization of a Generic Task 1.3.2 Hierarchical Classification 1.3.3 High Level Languages Based on Generic Tasks 1.3.4 Critiques of the GT Approach 1.3.5 Task-Specific Architectures2 A Framework for Design Problem Solving 2.1 What is the Design Problem? 2.2 What Kind of Space to Search? 2.3 Information Processing Analysis of Design 2.3.1 Processes that Propose Design choices 2.3.2 Auxiliary Processes 2.4 Implications of Above Analysis 2.5 Classes of Design 2.5.1 Class 1 Design 2.5.2 Class 2 Design 2.5.3 Class 3 Design 2.5.4 A Class 3 Product 2.5.5 Class 3 Complexity 2.5.6 Imprecision of the Classification3 Expert System Architecture for Class 3 Design 3.1 The Structure of a Class 3 Design Problem Solver 3.2 Design Agents 3.2.1 Specialists 3.2.2 Plans 3.2.3 Tasks 3.2.4 Steps 3.2.5 Constraints 3.2.6 Types of Design Knowledge 3.2.7 Dependency and Dependency Measures 3.3 DDB: The Design Database 3.3.1 Drawings 3.3.2 An Hypothesis 3.3.3 Alterations and Revisions 3.3.4 DDB Constraints 3.4 Other Agent 3.5 The Action of a Class 3 Design Problem Solver 3.5.1 Requirements Checking 3.5.2 Rough-Design 3.5.3 Design 3.5.4 Redesign and Re-Design 3.6 Inter-Agent Communication 3.6.1 Types of Messages 3.7 Design Agent Action 3.7.1 Specialist Action 3.7.2 Task Action 3.7.3 Step Action 3.7.4 Constraint Action 3.8 Plan Selection 3.8.1 The Selection Process 3.8.2 Qualities of Plans 3.8.3 Situation Factors 3.8.4 Plan Complexity 3.9 Summary4 Failure Handling in Routine Design 4.1 Introduction to Failure Handling 4.1.1 Restricted Knowledge 4.1.2 Social Metaphor 4.1.3 Local Decisions 4.1.4 Domain Driven 4.2 Knowledge for Failure Handling 4.2.1 Failure Handlers 4.2.2 Recovery from Failure 4.3 Redesign Problem Solving 4.3.1 How Redesign Occurs 4.3.2 Design Vs. Redesign Vs. Re-Design 4.4 An Overview of Failure Handling 4.5 Design Agent Failure 4.5.1 Constraint Failure 4.5.2 Failure in a Step 4.5.3 Failure in a Task 4.5.4 Failure in a Specialist 4.6 Failure Handling in Other Research 4.6.1 Styles of Failure Handling 4.6.2 EL/ARS 4.6.3 TROPIC 4.6.4 DESI/NASL 4.6.5 BUILD 4.6.6 MEND 4.6.7 Other Research 4.7 Summary5 DSPL: A Language for Design Expert Systems 5.1 Introduction 5.1.1 The Design Specialists and Plans Language 5.1.2 DSPL Conventions 5.2 Specialist Example 5.3 Plan Example 5.4 Task Example 5.5 Step Example 5.6 Constraint Example 5.7 Redesigner Example 5.8 Failure Handler Example 5.9 Sponsor Example 5.10 Selector Example 5.11 Summary6 AIR-CYL: An Air Cylinder Design System 6.1 An Instance of Class 3 Design 6.1.1 The Air Cylinder 6.1.2 The Conceptual Structure for the Air Cylinder 6.2 The AIR-CYL System 6.2.1 Requirements Checking 6.2.2 Rough Design 6.2.3 Design 6.2.4 Plan Selection 6.2.5 Failure Handlers 6.2.6 Redesigners 6.3 The DSPL System 6.3.1 System Setup 6.3.2 Attribute Tables 6.3.3 Standard Measures 6.3.4 Tolerances 6.3.5 Messages 6.3.6 The DSPL Interpreter 6.4 The Design Database 6.4.1 The Frame Hierarchy 6.4.2 Changes and Updates 6.4.3 Performance 6.5 Summary7 Design Problem Solving: A Research Agenda 7.1 Improvements to DSPL System Support 7.1.1 Interfaces 7.1.2 Design System Builder's Aids 7.2 Problem Solving in DSPL 7.2.1 Conjunctive Suggestions 7.2.2 Plan Selection 7.2.3 Agent Memory 7.2.4 Multiple Designs 7.2.5 Failure-Handling Strategies 7.2.6 Evaluating the Design 7.2.7 Post-Design Re-Design 7.2.8 Rough Design 7.2.9 Relaxation of Requirements 7.2.10 Automatic Construction 7.2.11 Performance Degradation 7.2.12 Use of Defaults and Catalogs 7.2.13 Evaluation of the System 7.3 Limitations of Class 3 Approach 7.4 Directions for Design Research 7.4.1 Investigating Compilation of Design Knowledge 7.4.2 Failure Analysis 7.4.3 Decomposition 7.4.4 Design by Weak Methods 7.5 ConclusionsReferencesAppendix A: Design TraceAppendix B: Design Trace with Step RedesignAppendix C: Design Trace with Task RedesignAppendix D: Plan Selection TraceAppendix E: DSPL Syntax