Decision Support in Concurrent Engineering – The Utility-Based Selection Decision Support Problem

Abstract

Decisions are an important part of Concurrent Engineering and engineering design in general. Accordingly, more attention should be paid to the means and methods for making these decisions. In this article, a utility-based decision support method for the selection of an engineering design is presented. The utility-based selection decision support problem (u-sDSP) is a synthesized construct that facilitates selection decisions involving trade-offs among multiple, conflicting attributes and mitigation of risk associated with uncertain performance with respect to the attributes considered. The negative impact of unnecessary iterations on the product development cycle is reduced via the assurance of preference-consistent outcomes. Specifically, utility theory provides a mathematically rigorous means of clarifying and capturing designer preferences as well as identifying a preferred alternative in the context of stochastic uncertainty, while the selection decision support problem (DSP) -the construct within which utility theory is employed -facilitates the effective use of engineering judgment for (1) formulating and bounding decisions and (2) establishing a proper context. Application of the u-sDSP is illustrated with an example from rapid prototyping (RP), in which the goal is to select the appropriate technology and material combinations for testing the snap-fit design of a light switch cover plate assembly.

Incorporation of risk preferences in a value‐based systems engineering framework

“…EU theory is a mathematical method that is used to collapse probability distributions associated with uncertain outcomes into a single EU that is consistent with the risk preferences of an individual. 58 In utility theory, the risk preferences of an individual are captured using a utility function and the most preferred design has the highest EU. 52 Equation (1) shows an example of a utility function that relates an outcome's value (V) to the utility (U) that a person receives.…”

“…This paper deals with normative decision theory using EU theory, as the paper is concerned with optimal choices. EU theory is a mathematical method that is used to collapse probability distributions associated with uncertain outcomes into a single EU that is consistent with the risk preferences of an individual . In utility theory, the risk preferences of an individual are captured using a utility function and the most preferred design has the highest EU .…”

Challenges to Bayesian decision support using morphological matrices for design: empirical evidence

“…There has also been work in categorising risks and using this to indicate promising design directions Raine, 2004, 2005). Nonstochastic approaches to risk modelling include inducing regression trees to identify paretooptimal designs (Forouraghi, 1999) and using utility function based approaches for risk mitigation based on designer preferences (Fernandez et al, 2005).…”

Towards a Function-Based Collective Innovation Framework

“…Through this feature, the users will be able to quantitatively specify the characteristics based on which the concepts should be evaluated. The underlying construct used for implementing the decision mechanism is the (utility-based) selection Decision Support Problem (sDSP), as reviewed in the literature [6,20] and summarized in words in Table 1. In this context, designers are encouraged to specify their preferences, for example through the definition of scales [6] or multi-attribute utility functions [32], along with the solution-neutral problem description.…”