Collaborative framework in computer aided innovation 2.0 : Application to process system engineering

In economy nowadays, the act of innovation is in general social; it requires the management of knowledge, and the techniques and methodologies to drive it. Innovation is not the product of one isolated intelligence, instead, it is the result of a multi-disciplinary workgroup lead by a process or a methodology. The conceptual design, which is found in the first stages of the innovation process, represents one of the most important challenges in industry nowadays. One of the main challenges faced by chemical industries related to the conceptual design phase is to provide the means in the form of methods and computational tools, for solving problems systematically, at the same time that benefiting from the collective efforts of individual intelligences involved. Hence, the main objective of this work is to provide a solution to improve the creative capacity of a team involved in the innovation process, in particular the preliminary (critical) phase of conceptual design. Consequently, it is important to understand the techniques, methods and tools that best support the generation of novel ideas and creative solutions. In addition, it is necessary to study the contribution of information and communication technologies as the mean to support collaboration. Web technologies are considered as complementary tools to implement methods and techniques in collaborative design, and particularly in the conceptual design stage. These technologies allow setting up distributed collaborative environments to bring together the resources and the experts who can relate the existing pieces of knowledge to new contexts. It is the synergy created in this kind of environment, which allow producing valuable concepts and ideas in the form of Collective Intelligence. Nevertheless in most existing solutions for collective intelligence or crowdsourcing environments, they do not report the use of a particular methodology to improve the participants' creativity. The solution in this work describes a social network service that enables users to cooperatively solve problems oriented (but not limited) to the phase of conceptual design. In this work we propose that the use of Collective Intelligence in combination with the model TRIZ-CBR could lead the creative efforts in a team to develop innovative solutions. With this work we are looking for connecting experts from one particular field, TRIZ practitioners and stakeholders with the objective to solve problems in collaboration unlashing the collective intelligence to improve creativity. This work uses the basis of the concept named "Open CAI 2.0" to propose a solution in the form of a theoretical framework. The contributions seek to move the development of the field in Computer Aided Innovation a step forward

TRIZ Future Conference 2004

TRIZ the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving is a living science and a practical methodology: millions of patents have been examined to look for principles of innovation and patterns of excellence. Large and small companies are using TRIZ to solve problems and to develop strategies for future technologies. The TRIZ Future Conference is the annual meeting of the European TRIZ Association, with contributions from everywhere in the world. The aims of the 2004 edition are the integration of TRIZ with other methodologies and the dissemination of systematic innovation practices even through SMEs: a broad spectrum of subjects in several fields debated with experts, practitioners and TRIZ newcomers

Interactive analogical retrieval: practice, theory and technology

Analogy is ubiquitous in human cognition. One of the important questions related to understanding the situated nature of analogy-making is how people retrieve source analogues via their interactions with external environments. This dissertation studies interactive analogical retrieval in the context of biologically inspired design (BID). BID involves creative use of analogies to biological systems to develop solutions for complex design problems (e.g., designing a device for acquiring water in desert environments based on the analogous fog-harvesting abilities of the Namibian Beetle). Finding the right biological analogues is one of the critical first steps in BID. Designers routinely search online in order to find their biological sources of inspiration. But this task of online bio-inspiration seeking represents an instance of interactive analogical retrieval that is extremely time consuming and challenging to accomplish. This dissertation focuses on understanding and supporting the task of online bio-inspiration seeking. Through a series of field studies, this dissertation uncovered the salient characteristics and challenges of online bio-inspiration seeking. An information-processing model of interactive analogical retrieval was developed in order to explain those challenges and to identify the underlying causes. A set of measures were put forth to ameliorate those challenges by targeting the identified causes. These measures were then implemented in an online information-seeking technology designed to specifically support the task of online bio-inspiration seeking. Finally, the validity of the proposed measures was investigated through a series of experimental studies and a deployment study. The trends are encouraging and suggest that the proposed measures has the potential to change the dynamics of online bio-inspiration seeking in favor of ameliorating the identified challenges of online bio-inspiration seeking.PhDCommittee Chair: Goel, Ashok; Committee Member: Kolodner, Janet; Committee Member: Maher, Mary Lou; Committee Member: Nersessian, Nancy; Committee Member: Yen, Jeannett

Knowledge management solutions and selection tool for engineering organisations

It is widely accepted that engineering research, design, development and manufacturing processes are highly reliant upon the valuable knowledge, experiences and skills stored within the company's systems, processes, documents and employees. If these key knowledge resources can be identified, maintained and efficiently controlled, prior successes and failures can be capitalised upon, best practices can be captured and transferred and new solutions can be developed with minimal duplication of efforts and without unnecessary replication of prior work. Away from manufacturing and engineering organisations, in the broader business world, exists an array of solutions, tools and techniques developed specifically to facilitate the management of knowledge and experience these are collectively labelled as Knowledge Management (KM) tools and solutions. Such solutions, tools and techniques have achieved widespread recognition for their capabilities and consequent importance in enhancing processes across a variety of business applications and contexts. However their relevancy, applicability and relative merits in particular manufacturing and mechanical engineering (MME) contexts have generally not been identified or investigated. This thesis reviews and presents a large number of diverse KM solutions and implementations across industries and organisations and creates a new and unique single KM solutions space in which these solutions are characterised. The KM solution space is subsequently utilised by a new KM methodology and support tool that facilitates and demonstrates the enhancement of mechanical and manufacturing engineering processes through analysis followed by selection and implementation of the most appropriate existing KM solutions. The KM Tool is demonstrated via three industrial case studies detailing the process concerns and associated improvements identified and implemented. The KM Solution Space developed during this research has shown that there is significant opportunity to improve mechanical and manufacturing engineering processes through the adoption of appropriate KM solutions from the broader business world. The KM Tool developed via this research facilitates this identification and adoption of the most appropriate KM solution. In addition to the MME processes covered by the scope of this research there is additional scope to extend the use of the KM Tool and KM Solution Space to other business areas that have not yet had extensive exposure to KM

Processus et méthodes pour la résolution de problèmes interdisciplinaires et pour l'intégration de technologies dans des Domaines fortement Basés sur la Connaissance

Most of the major technological challenges of the 21st century like e.g., reduction of greenhouse gas emission and sustainable energy supply, but also the bio- and nano-technological revolutions require intensified collaboration between different disciplines of engineering design as well as of natural science.The present Ph.D. research tries to provide some insight into the questions of• How to provide methodological support for creative problem solving in interdisciplinary groups composed of engineers and natural scientists?• How to support the process of the integration of a technology originating from a knowledge-intensive domain in order to solve a given design problem?The literature analyzed relevant aspects on several systemic levels (global, institutional, team-, individual and problem- perspective).The review allowed highlighting problems related to both, the activity as such as well as to the methods which seem a priori appropriate to support it. In this regard, incoherent interpretive schemes and majority influence are examples for the former and performance drawbacks as well as learning difficulties associated to hierarchical methodologies are instances of the latter.Based on the results of the literature review, two experiments were conducted.The first experiment inquired into the impact of disciplinary group composition (H1) as well as of the applied methodology (H2) on the creative group problem solving process and its outcomes.In a laboratory experiment 60 participants, 45 with a life science background and 15 with a mechanical engineering background were trained either in instances of intuitive approaches (Brainstorming, Mind Mapping) or in analytical, hierarchical methodology (TRIZ/USIT). Then, they had to solve an ill-defined medical problem in either mono- or multidisciplinary teams. The creative process as well as the output was documented using questionnaires and documentation sheets. Further the output was evaluated quantitatively by two domain experts before it was categorized qualitatively.Statistical analyses (ANOVA, Correlation parameters and Attraction rates), to a certain extent, support H1 and H2. More importantly however, the experiment shows differences related to method performance in general and as a function of disciplinary group composition in particular.The second experiment investigated whether concepts of TRIZ and its derivatives ((A/U)SIT) are appropriate to provide support for the process of technology integration before the background of an industrial NCD/NPPD process (H3).In order to test this hypothesis a model was developed which allows the identification and resolution of problems which typically appear during the integration of a specific technology into a given application. The model incorporates two of the most important concepts of TRIZ, and is sought to facilitate creative problem solving attempts in both, mono- and multidisciplinary teams.The said model was tested during an industrial NCD study in the roller bearing industry. After the case study, the participating engineers were asked to compare the applied model and the associated technology integration process with existing approaches used in the company.The results of the experiment point to superior performance of the presented model in terms of knowledge transfer-related and idea quality-related criteria. However, required resources for process conduction and necessary effort for the learning of the approach were considered comparable to existing approaches.The present Ph.D. work contributes to the understanding of creative problem solving in interdisciplinary groups in general and related to technology integration in particular. Especially the comparison of more pragmatic intuitive methods with more hierarchical analytical approaches depending on disciplinary group composition provided relevant insight for R&D processes.Les principaux enjeux technico-scientifiques du 21ème siècle sont caractérisés par une interdisciplinarité et une convergence des technologies de plus en plus importantes. L'évolution des produits et services basés sur la bio- et la nanotechnologie sont parmi les exemples les plus connus. Il manque cependant des processus et des méthodes permettant d'organiser et de structurer la résolution de problème dans des environnements interdisciplinaires – ce terme faisant ici référence à la collaboration entre ingénieurs et chercheurs scientifiques.Ainsi, la question de recherche de ce travail de doctorat est la suivante :Comment soutenir et faciliter la résolution créative de problème interdisciplinaire et l'intégration des technologies dans des domaines basés sur la connaissance ?Pour répondre à cette question, trois hypothèses ont été formulées :La première hypothèse suggère que la composition d'un groupe en terme de disciplines (groupe multi- ou monodisciplinaire) a un impact sur le processus de résolution de problème en groupe ainsi que sur les résultats de ce processus.La deuxième hypothèse suggère un impact du support méthodologique sur le processus de résolution de problème en groupe ainsi que sur les résultats de ce processus.La troisième hypothèse suggère quant à elle que les concepts et notions clés des méthodes analytiques comme TRIZ et USIT peuvent être utilisés dans un processus d'intégration de technologie et peuvent soutenir ce processus.Les deux premières hypothèses ont été testées et validées par une expérimentation dans laquelle des groupes mono- et multidisciplinaires devaient générer des solutions pour un problème complexe en utilisant des méthodes intuitives ou analytiques. Alors que la composition de groupe impacte principalement les aspects quantitatifs et qualitatifs des solutions proposées, le support méthodologique influence quant à lui le processus de résolution de problème ainsi que les aspects qualitatifs des solutions. Plus important, l'impact des méthodes semble être dépendant de la composition des groupes.Pour tester la troisième hypothèse, les résultats de la première expérimentation ont été utilisés pour générer un modèle permettant de structurer la recherche et l'intégration d'une ou plusieurs technologies dans le cadre du développement de nouveaux produits. Ce modèle, qui intègre des méthodes et outils provenant de différentes méthodologies, a été testé par des ingénieurs lors d'une étude de cas industrielle dans le secteur des roulements à bille. L'évaluation du modèle montre qu'il semble faciliter le transfert de connaissance et améliorer la créativité des concepts développés comparé aux approches déjà existantes. En ce qui concerne l'effort nécessaire pour l'apprentissage et la mise en œuvre du modèle développé, les performances sont comparables à celles obtenues avec les méthodes préexistantes.Les résultats de ce travail sont particulièrement intéressants pour les équipes de la R et D et leur management dans les secteurs de la haute technologie ainsi que dans des domaines à l'interface entre l'ingénierie et les sciences naturelles. Le modèle développé est actuellement appliqué dans une démarche d'open innovation dans le secteur de la pharmacologie

Facilitating Engineers Abilities to Solve Inventive Problems Using CBR and Semantic Similarity

Part 6: TRIZ and PatentingInternational audienceOur industry currently undergoes a period of important changes. The era of computerization implies to companies to change not only through their organization, but also in automating as much as possible their internal processes. Our research focuses on the computerization of the problem-solution couple when facing inventive situations in R&D. The method used is based on Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) that has already been proven to be useful in routine design. On the other hand, CBR is hardly used in inventive situations because the latter require reasoning outside the circle of knowledge recorded in a database. Our proposal consists in coupling CBR with semantic similarity algorithms. The aim is to resolve a new problem based on its semantic similarity with the old problems. Then the old solution can be adapted to solve the new problem. We postulate that a multidisciplinary case base sufficiently populated of multidisciplinary problem-solution couples is likely to considerably improve the performance of R&D engineers to solve inventive problems. This being possible by bringing them alternative solutions based on the semantically similar problems, which are distant from their field of origin. In this way, we provide the possibility to enhance the inventiveness of solution. This type of reasoning, largely inspired by the TRIZ theory, is the subject of this paper. The methodology, the experiments and the conclusions that we develop here validate that this type of approach produces the claimed effects on designers although limited to the context where it has been conducted

Analogical Reasoning as a Decision Support Principle for Weakly-Structured Marketing Problems

Veel marketing problemen zijn zwak-gestructureerd. Vanuit de psychologie weten we dat analoog redeneren een effectieve manier is om dit soort problemen op te lossen. Dat wil zeggen: één van de eerste dingen die een manager zal doen wanneer hij geconfronteerd wordt met een dergelijk probleem is in zijn geheugen zoeken naar eerdere, soortgelijke ervaringen (of cases) die zouden kunnen helpen bij het oplossen van het probleem. “Case-Based” Redeneren (CBR) is een geavanceerde techniek, afkomstig uit het vakgebied van de kunstmatige intelligentie, die deze vorm van menselijk redeneren nabootst en gebruikt kan worden om de grote hoeveelheid, op ervaring gebaseerde marketing kennis aan te wenden voor het nemen van beslissingen. In een aantal experimenten onderzoeken wij de effectiviteit en efficiëntie van het beschikbaar maken van een CBR-systeem onder verschillende condities. Hiervoor gebruiken we het ontwerpen van “sales promotie” campagnes als zwak-gestructureerd toepassingsdomein binnen de marketing. Deze dissertatie laat zien dat analoog redeneren helpt om marketing beslissingen te verbeteren. Om precies te zijn: we tonen aan dat een CBR-systeem helpt om betere, creatievere “sales promotie” campagnes te ontwerpen en om ze efficiënter te ontwerpen. Bovendien laten we zien dat de effecten van de beschikbaarheid van een CBR-systeem afhankelijk zijn van: (1) de inhoud van de “case-base” (d.w.z., nabije analogieën versus verre analogieën), (2) de grootte van de “case-base” (d.w.z., een groot aantal cases versus een standaard aantal cases), en (3) de karakteristieken van de beslisser (d.w.z., creativiteit). Interessant is dat we vinden dat het effect van de beschikbaarheid van een CBR-systeem op de kwaliteit van de oplossing het grootst is voor beslissers die minder creatief van zichzelf zijn. Verder laten we zien dat beslissers problemen hebben met het inschatten van de bijdrage van het CBR-systeem aan de objectieve kwaliteit van hun oplossing. Tot slot formuleren we een aantal aanbevelingen voor managers die gebaseerd zijn op deze bevindingen, zoals “leg marketing kennis vast en maak het beschikbaar in de vorm van cases” en “verschillende typen beslissers hebben verschillende typen CBR-systemen nodig”.Many marketing problems are weakly-structured. From the psychological literature, we know that analogical reasoning is an effective problem-solving method in weakly-structured decision situations. That is, when confronted with such a problem, one of the first things managers will naturally do is to search their memory for previous, similar experiences (or cases) that could help to solve the problem at hand. Case-Based Reasoning (CBR) is a state-of-the-art artificial intelligence technique that mimics this kind of human reasoning and can be used to put the vast amount of experience-based marketing knowledge into action for decision making. In a series of experiments, we investigate the effectiveness and efficiency of CBR system availability under different conditions. We use the design of sales promotion campaigns as our weakly-structured application domain in marketing. This dissertation shows that analogical reasoning does help to improve marketing decision making. More specifically, we demonstrate that a CBR system helps to design better, more creative sales promotion campaigns and helps to design them more efficiently. Furthermore, we show that the effects of CBR system availability are dependent on: (1) the content of the case-base (i.e., near analogies versus far analogies), (2) the size of the case-base (i.e., large size versus standard size), and (3) the characteristics of the decision maker (i.e., creative ability). Interestingly, the effect of CBR system availability on solution quality is largest for decision makers with a low creative ability (i.e., a compensation effect). Moreover, we show that decision makers have difficulties in recognizing the contribution of the CBR system to the objective quality of their solution. Based on these findings, we provide a number of recommendations for managers, such as “capture, store and make knowledge available in the form of cases” and “different types of decision makers need different types of CBR systems”

Design guidelines for manufacturability

Matching the configuration of a product to available production capabilities during the design process directly affects product cost and hence product competitiveness. Existing approaches to improving manufacturability are helpful in the latter stages of the design process and usually involve corrective redesign. To avoid redesign, designers require appropriate guidance in the early stages of the design process. Guidelines, that is prescriptive recommendations for actions to address issues, are frequently used to provide this guidance. However, guideline sets are often poorly structured, incomplete, and the guidelines difficult to retrieve and apply. The overall aim of this research is to improve guidance to designers, particularly manufacturability guidance, early in the design process. Particular objectives of this research are to improve existing methods of guideline collection, storage, and retrieval. The research proceeded in the following pattern: - Case studies explored manufacturability problems in a small company. - Guideline support concepts were developed using a retrospective case study. - Collection concepts were developed with observational studies. - Storage approaches were developed using advanced composite guidelines. - A link-based retrieval technique was validated with a mechanical design protocol study. - Collection, storage, and retrieval methods were empirically tested. The results of this research were: - a technique to directly relate guidelines to the design process - a system of links relating guidelines to each other - an Action-Centred Guideline Approach - a preliminary software implementation of the approach - validation of the utility of the approach. The conclusions from this research are: - Guidance in the early stages of the design process can be improved through the use of structured guidelines. - The Action-Centred Guideline Approach improves the collection, storage, and retrieval of guidelines. - Empirical validation showed that guideline links are an effective means for improving guideline retrieval. - Further research is required in the areas of integrating the approach with other design tools, and in extending the link technique

Integrated collaborative building design using Internet technology

Communication between the parties in a project of an integrated collaborative engineering system has been the subject of active research for many years. The construction industry has a long tradition of collaborative working between the members of the construction team. At the design stage, this has traditionally been based on physical meetings between representatives of the principal design team members. To aid these meetings, the information and communication technologies that are currently available have been used. These Information Technology (IT) tools have produced some success but are held back by the problems posed by the use of diverse software tools and the lack of effective collaboration tools. The collaboration tools are necessary to reduce the time and distance constraints, in the increasingly global design teamwork. IT-supported collaborative construction design refers to actors in product design processing, working together on the same project with IT networks used for mediation to overcome time and geographical constraints. Fragmentation of the project management of a building construction between different specialists may be necessary, but good communication and coordination among the participants is essential to accomplish the overall goals of the project. New information technologies can be helpful in this process, especially the Internet and specialised extranets. A collaborative Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) design environment has been proposed by this research to integrate the work of distributed project participants. Based on identified functional requirements, the conventional building product models have been extended to incorporate high-level concepts such as activity and organisation, which are essential for coordination and collaboration. A generic human-project-human interaction model has been developed, which could not only make the building domain models interaction-aware, but also serve as a base model for developing general interaction utilities. A collaborative design environment prototype has been described, covering the common project workspace, general interaction utilities and multi-user interfaces. This study characterises collaboration as a function of time, space and shared working environment with enabled real-time design tools over the World Wide Web (WWW). To realise the proposal of this research the inter-mediated design communication, visual presentation, integration and organisation frameworks, groupware technology, and interactive multimedia tools are used. This study presents the CODE (COllaborative Design Environment) system. This Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) virtual working space is argued to support collaboration and teamwork in real time. The evaluation of the system showed its feasibility and reliability through a workshop. The results showed that the CODE system can assist the collaborative AEC design process

Integrated collaborative building design using Internet technology

Communication between the parties in a project of an integrated collaborative engineering system has been the subject of active research for many years. The construction industry has a long tradition of collaborative working between the members of the construction team. At the design stage, this has traditionally been based on physical meetings between representatives of the principal design team members. To aid these meetings, the information and communication technologies that are currently available have been used. These Information Technology (IT) tools have produced some success but are held back by the problems posed by the use of diverse software tools and the lack of effective collaboration tools. The collaboration tools are necessary to reduce the time and distance constraints, in the increasingly global design teamwork. IT-supported collaborative construction design refers to actors in product design processing, working together on the same project with IT networks used for mediation to overcome time and geographical constraints. Fragmentation of the project management of a building construction between different specialists may be necessary, but good communication and coordination among the participants is essential to accomplish the overall goals of the project. New information technologies can be helpful in this process, especially the Internet and specialised extranets. A collaborative Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) design environment has been proposed by this research to integrate the work of distributed project participants. Based on identified functional requirements, the conventional building product models have been extended to incorporate high-level concepts such as activity and organisation, which are essential for coordination and collaboration. A generic human-project-human interaction model has been developed, which could not only make the building domain models interaction-aware, but also serve as a base model for developing general interaction utilities. A collaborative design environment prototype has been described, covering the common project workspace, general interaction utilities and multi-user interfaces. This study characterises collaboration as a function of time, space and shared working environment with enabled real-time design tools over the World Wide Web (WWW). To realise the proposal of this research the inter-mediated design communication, visual presentation, integration and organisation frameworks, groupware technology, and interactive multimedia tools are used. This study presents the CODE (COllaborative Design Environment) system. This Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) virtual working space is argued to support collaboration and teamwork in real time. The evaluation of the system showed its feasibility and reliability through a workshop. The results showed that the CODE system can assist the collaborative AEC design process