Configuration design

This article will address the topic of Configuration design, which has gained relevance in recent times due to its impact on various aspects of society. Configuration design has been the subject of debate, analysis and discussion in different areas, generating conflicting opinions and awakening the interest of academics, specialists and the general public. In this sense, it is imperative to fully explore the implications and consequences that Configuration design entails, as well as reflect on possible solutions and actions that could mitigate its influence. Through a multidisciplinary approach, the various aspects related to Configuration design will be delved into, offering a comprehensive and critical vision that allows us to understand its scope and current context.

Configuration design is a kind of design where a fixed set of predefined components that can be interfaced (connected) in predefined ways is given, and an assembly (i.e. designed artifact) of components selected from this fixed set is sought that satisfies a set of requirements and obeys a set of constraints.

The associated design configuration problem consists of the following three constituent tasks:

  1. Selection of components,
  2. Allocation of components, and
  3. Interfacing of components (design of ways the components interface/connect with each other).

Types of knowledge involved in configuration design include:

  • Problem-specific knowledge:
    • Input knowledge:
      • Requirements
      • Constraints
      • Technology
    • Case knowledge
  • Persistent knowledge (knowledge that remains valid over multiple problem solving sessions):
    • Case knowledge
    • Domain-specific, method-independent knowledge
    • Method-specific domain knowledge
    • Search-control knowledge

See also

References

  • Mittal, S. and Frayman, F. (1989), Towards a generic model of configuration tasks, Proceedings of the 11th IJCAI, San Mateo, CA, USA, Morgan Kaufmann, pages 1395-1401.
  • Levin, Mark Sh. (2015) Modular systems design and evaluation. Springer.
  • B. Wielinga and G. Schreiber (1997), Configuration Design Problem Solving, IEEE Intelligent Systems, Vol. 12, pages 49–56.