The M*-OBJECT methodology for information system design in CIM environments

A Combined Methodology for information systems analysis and design based on ISAC and NIAM

This paper advances the long term project of developing a situated information systems analysis and design methodology. Conventional approaches to information systems design are informed by the widely-held view that human purposeful action proceeds by deliberation on a mental model of the world of action. In contrast, situated information systems are informed by the view of situated action theory that routine action is largely non-deliberative and makes crucial use of structures in the action environment for attainment of goals. The expectation is that systems designed using this situated approach will be more effective in supporting routine activity than systems designed using the conventional approach. This paper reports on a case study conducted in the chemotherapy unit of a large hospital. The case study was conducted using the preexisting version of the situated systems methodology with the results of the case study informing further development of the methodology. The research provides further evidence of the ability of information systems informed by a situated model of action to effectively support complex but largely routine activity.

One approach to learning information systems design is case-based reasoning (CBR). However, learning from design cases can be superficial, if cases are not accessible at the level of meaningful design components and are not contextualised in the situation in which they have been conceived. StoryNet is a learning environment inspired by CBR and by a methodology for information systems analysis and design grounded in scenario-based modelling. StoryNet features ‘cases’ produced by a community of learners and linked in a network to highlight how design solutions evolve across time and different groups of learners. This fosters in the learners the ability to perform a deeper analysis of the business organisation and stimulates innovative solutions. Also, the network of cases affords the opportunity to capitalise on the learners' differences. It provides a richer context, in which design quality can be better understood and advanced, through the interplay of the different roles, motivations and expectations of the actors involved and a collective process of selection of the best-fit design features.

In this paper, we continue our long-term project of developing a situated information systems analysis and design methodology, and present it as a radical alternative to conventional information systems analysis and design. Taking a situated approach entails focusing on action and a situated analysis and design methodology aims to increase efficiency and effectiveness through supporting routine action. We suggest that, as well as improving effectiveness and temporal efficiency, applying the situated methodology will result in less wasted human effort expended in search of information. We discuss the implications of an action focus for our conception of what an information system should be, and illustrate the application of the methodology with examples from a case study.

This paper identifies the interest of information systems theoreticians and practitioners in research and methodological design as a conceptual analytic enterprise that transcends the assumption that its principles are founded upon scientifically derived formalisms. The antifoundationalist model of information system research and methodological design is one in which questions of validity can neither be posed nor answered in reference to a scientific, extracontextual reality but are intelligible and debatable only within the precincts of the contexts or situations in which they are derived. This paper debates whether anti-foundationalism in information system design as a model of epistemology provides practitioners and researchers with directions for achieving the epistemological state it describes and whether, if practitioners and researchers are able to learn and adhere to the principles of anti-foundationalism, this will provide an improved methodology for information system project development.

The particular set of conceptual design methods proposed in this paper is, in fact, a functional and structural analysis, which includes: isolating the structure of the system from the environment, the sequence of performing a number of actions to achieve goals, etc. In some cases, the conceptual design methods conduct a systematic synthesis of the project under study. Object-oriented modeling is one of the main elements of such a methodology. The use of modern methods of analysis and synthesis of the structure of the object minimizes errors that are potentially possible during conceptual design and allows to obtain at this stage the maximum improvement of the structure of the tool, which most rationally fits the functional requirements of the technical task. Using the methodology of conceptual system design based on the universal modeling language UML, while using the integration of the necessary corresponding diagrams, we get the opportunity to create the necessary structural model of the system. The structural model is obtained as a result of combining two unary diagrams (target classes and object classes) through logical functional relationships of their entities in the form of a third (transitional) unary diagram of functional-target classes and is a hybrid object-target diagram of classes. This diagram describes the effects on the studied system of reclamation cultivation of slope and plain lands as well as the requirements for their treatment. Emerging goals are structured by the relationship with the elements of technological equipment from the set technological tasks. The resulting structured targets are combined into a basic structure through their aggregation relations of the tool for the system of reclamation cultivation of slope and plain lands. As a result of the theoretical studies of the reclamation treatment system, a new method of slope treatment was created, protected by the RF patent, as well as a number of inventions allowing to create a universal tillage tool used in the reclamation cultivation system for slope and plain lands.

PurposeThe generic design environment for a flexible printed‐circuit board assemblies (PCBA) remanufacturing cell contains four interrelated complex design domains. Mechanical design domains are really complex and the use of well‐proven mechanical product design methodologies does not help the designer. Hence, this paper aims to develop a generic systematic design methodology for a flexible PCBA remanufacturing cell.Design/methodology/approachThe study investigates the use of conventional mechanical product design techniques for the design of a flexible PCBA rework (remanufacturing) cell. It indicates problems and the weaknesses when conventional product design techniques are used for the development of flexible manufacturing systems (FMS). It then provides a new systematic mechanical design methodology for designing a flexible PCBA rework (remanufacturing) cell. The design methodology is intended to be generic in order to apply successfully to any FMS design.FindingsConventional product design methodology cannot be used directly for the design of a flexible PCBA remanufacturing cell. Hence, two design methodologies were developed: the generic FMS mechanical design methodology and a specific FMS design methodology for a PCBA rework cell. The first one was developed based on the tasks of the conventional product design process integrated with new design tools. The generic design methodology was then extended to obtain the second methodology for a PCBA rework cell design. Both of the methodologies were applied to a flexible PCBA rework cell design problem. Both design methodologies eliminated unusable design solutions at the early design stages of the conceptual design process and made the design process easier.Practical implicationsThe generic and specific design methodologies provide a better design environment, even for less specialized FMS designers.Originality/valueThe design methodologies may help for the commercialization of a flexible PCBA remanufacturing cell that may be used for SM rework and assembly.

In this work, the conceptual design methodology of a hybrid Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) – Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) platform is presented. As the mission complexity and the need for interoperability between different platforms grows more demanding by the day, hybrid platforms are becoming an essential solution. Hybrid UAV-UUVs can operate seamlessly and repeatedly in both the aerial and underwater environments, something that numerous animal species already execute in an optimized way. The design methodology starts with the review of the few available prototypes, creating initial design trends and continues with analytical calculations. These calculations are based on aircraft design textbooks and are modified to take into account the special characteristics of a hybrid platform, such as the means of transition between the water and the air. A Blended Wing Body (BWB) layout configuration is selected for the numerous aerodynamic advantages that it offers. The analytical calculations are then validated with the use of high fidelity CFD calculations. The results from the conceptual design phase indicate that the proposed methodology for hybrid UAV-UUV configurations provides a good design accuracy. Finally, the outcome of this methodology, which is a hybrid UAV-UUV platform is potentially the answer to the operational gap for missions that include both underwater and aerial environments.

The authors propose the use of process models for DSS design. The kind of process models suggested are task structures and decision structures with simple graphical syntax and semantics. The process models form the basis for a coherent DSS design methodology, based upon the bounded rationality paradigm. The history of DSS and DSS design is discussed to form a theoretical position. The resulting methodology has been tested and evaluated in a laboratory experiment. The results of this evaluation will be used for continuous improvement of the methodology. >

Interdisciplinary Design: Influence of Team Structure on Project Success

The use of simulation in the design of Milk-Run intralogistics systems

This paper focuses on the application of complexity theory and entropy concepts in the design process. Broadly speaking, the design process involves three phases: problem definition, conceptual design and embodiment. In the conceptual design phase, concepts that satisfy the functional requirements of the desired product are identified and compared. It is said that approximately 75% of the total product life-cycle cost is committed in this phase. The conceptual design phase has two essential sub-phases, namely, obtaining a solution set and selecting the most suitable solutions. Our work focuses on the selection sub-phase. The aim within this sub-phase is to minimize the number of selected concept variants and to reduce their chances of rejection in later stages. However, the solution to this problem is quite elusive, mostly because information about concept variants is scarce and rather qualitative at this stage. A common method is to perform a cost-benefit analysis. However, the analysis relies heavily on expert intuition and is thus subjected to high uncertainties. Recently, axiomatic design is gaining popularity. This is a framework that incorporates two axioms, namely, the Independence Axiom and the Minimum Information Axiom, accompanied by several corollaries. However, criticism on the integrity of the Independence Axiom has appeared recently in the literature. Further, the formulation of axiomatic design appears to have logical flaws. Finally, the conceptual design phase, a distinct phase in the design process, cannot be distinguished clearly in axiomatic design. In this paper we try to improve the selection phase of the conceptual design by improving the existing cost-benefit approach. In this vein, performance features against which concepts would be evaluated are established. We propose the use of Kolmogorov complexity theory and entropy concepts from information theory and physics to evaluate the complexity of the performance features. The design concepts are then improved based on the rule to reduce complexity of each performance feature. Weights are finally assigned to each performance feature and an overall complexity index is obtained which is suitable to compare designs. The ideas are further elaborated on by examples.

In a rapidly growing information-oriented society, people with disabilities and older people are faced with serious inconveniences in accessing IT products due to complicated use of technologies and poorly designed interfaces. To solve the problems, it is required for designers and engineers to find out and understand user needs, and then to figure out the functionalities and design characteristics to meet the needs. Figuring out the Engineering Characteristics (EC) of products from user needs for people with disabilities and older people who have problems using main stream products due to limited accessibility would take great efforts and time. We merged two important concepts of product design for people with disabilities and older people, accessibility and universal design, using an engineering design framework of QFD (Quality Function Deployment) to provide engineers and designers with a systematic methodology for universal product design. We adapted a technical report from the ISO/IEC JTC1 Special Working Group on Accessibility (SWG-A), the Information Technology – Accessibility Considerations for People with Disabilities – Part 1: User Needs Summary (ISO/IEC PDTR 99999-1), and mapped the detailed user accessibility needs to the guidelines of 7 universal design principles which are widely accepted. We explained how a process model was built for mapping relationship between the guidelines and user accessibility needs, and extracting the critical engineering characteristics for IT product design based on these two models. A model House of Quality(HOQ) was built for such procedures.KeywordsUniversal design processUser needsQuality Function Deployment (QFD)design guidelinesISO/IEC PDTR 99999-1

Redefinition creative and inventive design support system: DX application design process

A multi-objective feedback approach for evaluating sequential conceptual building design decisions