Engineering design processes are highly creative and knowledge-intensive tasks that involve extensive information exchange and communication among diverse developers. In such dynamic settings, traditional information management systems fail to provide adequate support due to their inflexible data structures and hard-wired usage procedures, as well as their restricted ability to integrate processes and product information. In this paper, we advocate the idea of Process Data Warehousing as a means to provide an information management and integration platform for such design processes. The key idea behind our approach is a flexible ontology-based schema with formally defined semantics that enables the capture and reuse of design knowledge, supported by advanced computer science methods.
In this contribution, a methodology for modeling, improving, and implementing design processes in chemical engineering is presented. The methodology comprises a semiformal modeling language for design processes, complemented by a modeling procedure describing the efficient creation of design process models. The methodology inherits from some approaches developed in the domain of business process reengineering and workflow management, but has been extended considerably to meet the requirements imposed by the creative character of design processes. Two case studies demonstrating the successful application of the procedure for design processes in different industrial settings are discussed.
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