Research and Development of an Expert System in Idea Generation Methods to Aid in the Engineering Design Process

The objective of this research is to develop an Expert System (i.e. software) to aid designers in selecting appropriate idea generation methods for their specific design situation. This expert system would help designers generate creative ideas more frequently, and hence better designs and better products for society. The first step is to understand the creative design process in detail; this involves the engineering design process, cognitive processes, and other related elements. This understanding is represented initially as a conceptual model. Following an Artificial Intelligence (AI) approach, this model is then developed into a Logical model that defines entities, attributes, and relationships. The logical model is then implemented physically by means of programming (e.g. using a database management system). The keys for the development of this expert system are (1) the adequate understanding of the creativity process under different scenarios and the selection of ideation methods, and (2) the efficient modeling of that knowledge following an AI approach to capture the required expertise. After necessary evaluation, the expert system can be used as (1) a teaching tool (2) a professional reference, and (3) as a research tool to identify areas of opportunity for the development of new ideation methods