Modelling an elevator design task in DESIRE: the VT example

Frances M.T. Brazier, Pieter H.G. van Langen, Jan Treur, Niek J.E. Wijngaards, Mark Willems
1996 International Journal of Human-Computer Studies  
An elevator configuration task , the VT task , is modelled within DESIRE as a design task . DESIRE is a framework within which complex reasoning tasks are modelled as compositional architectures . Compositional architectures are based on a task decomposition , acquired during task analysis . An existing generic task model of design , based on a logical analysis and synthesis of task models devised for diverse applications , has been refined for the elevator configuration task . The resulting
more » ... k model includes a description of the ontology of the elevator domain and a description of the task model . ÷ 1996 Academic Press Limited . Introduction Design is a complex process , in which reasoning with dif ferent types of knowledge plays an important role . Knowledge of requirements which can be imposed on an artifact (a design object) , knowledge of the domain principles and theories involved , but also knowledge of perspectives taken on the artifact , are interwoven . Of equal importance is knowledge of design strategies : knowledge of strategies to manage conflicts between the dif ferent interests of the parties involved (e . g . customer , designer) , knowledge of strategies to reason about partial designs and partial sets of requirements , etc . To model design , the design process must be made explicit . During conceptual design (including knowledge acquisition) of a design support system , knowledge of both design strategies and design objects must be obtained . Configuring an elevator , as described by Marcus , Stout and McDermott (1988) , Marcus and McDermott (1989) , and Yost (1994) , is a specific type of design task . Elevator configurations are the design objects , customer specifications and relevant building information define the (initial) requirements , and constraints define design object knowledge . Compiled modification knowledge (default and fix knowledge) guides the design process . In this paper a generic task model of design (see Brazier , Langen , Ruttkay and Treur , 1994 b ) , is applied to the VT task . This model is based on a logical theory of design (see Brazier , Langen and Treur , 1995 a ) and task models of design tasks in dif ferent fields of application (for example , Brumsen , Pannekeet & Treur , 1992 ; Geelen & Kowalczyk , 1992 ; Geelen , Ruttkay & Treur , 1992) . The framework within which the task has been modelled , specified and operationalized , is the DESIRE framework (DEsign and Specifiation of Interactive REasoning components) , presented in Langevelde , Philipsen and Treur (1992) and Brazier , Treur , Wijngaards and Willems (1995 c ) ; introduced below in Section 2 . In Section 3 , the role of the 469
doi:10.1006/ijhc.1996.0022 fatcat:n4mvltxpxjefzep7daqobm2lei