Problem Family Design Optimization Testbed

Special Session at DAC 2007:
To promote the launch of this testbed, we are organizing a Special Session on Product Platform Design Optimization at the 2007 ASME Design Engineering Technical Conferences -- Design Automation Conference. Papers submitted to the Special Session should make use of at least one of the testbed problems for which analysis code is provided to enable direct comparisons obtained by different solution methods. Please follow the directions on the DAC website for submitting papers to the special session.

Overview:
Product platforms are used by many companies to develop a variety of products to satisfy a wide range of consumer needs without designing each individual product from scratch. A number of platform design and optimization methods have been published in recent years; however, this emerging field lacks an agreed-upon set of benchmark problems and a standardized formulation, which have helped many other fields prosper. The objective in this project is to create a web-based testbed of benchmark problems for researchers working in the area of product platform design and optimization. Specific objectives include:

1. Provide a set of standard benchmark problems for comparison of product platform design methodologies, and for researchers to use in developing new methodologies.
2. Provide a compendium of industry case studies.
3. Use the problems as the basis for a classification scheme for product platform design methods.

Problem Testbed:
The current problem testbed is shown in the following table, and the classification scheme is described in detail after the table. We invite researchers to follow the available links and references to learn more about the problems as well as download the analysis code for their own use. We simply ask that users acknowledge the website in their work and let us know about any publications that result.

Classification Scheme:
Based on extensive survey of the problems used in the platform design optimization literature [7], we propose an initial classification scheme for product platform test problems that involves two criteria [updated from 8]:

Criterion A: Selection of the Platform Architecture

A1 - The platform variables and their extent are given (the problem does not quantify the benefits of commonality):

• The set of platform variables has already been determined, and is given as part of the problem statement. The goal is simply to find the best values of the platform and non-platform design variables.

• The selection of the platform variables is part of the optimization process.
• The problem statement and equations quantify the benefits of commonality; the method determines how much commonality is appropriate.

Note: Sometimes this distinction is presented in terms of quantification of "cost". We assert that cost is simply a type of performance, and that the fundamental distinction in product platforms is not between cost and performance but is whether some performance attribute is dependent on the level of sharing.

Classification Criterion B: Incorporation of Market Demand

B1 - The example does not include any demand information (the problem does not quantify the benefits of variety):

• Which products are to be produced is fixed as part of the problem statement.
• This category includes all problems in which the demand for the fixed set of member products is given as an explicit function of those products.

• A demand function is given as part of the model for the problem. The member products to fulfill that demand are not fixed, rather they are determined by the method.
• The demand function assumes a static and fixed total demand with a single producer, and does not include any consideration of competitors or market share.

• A demand model is given, and includes a consideration of competition among multiple producers.

Questions:
This testbed is being organized and maintained by:

Acknowledgmenets:
This work is supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Nos. IIS-0325402 and IIS-0325415. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations presented in this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

Cited References:

1. D'Souza, B. and Simpson, T. W., 2003, "A Genetic Algorithm Based Method for Product Family Design Optimization," Engineering Optimization, 35(1), pp. 1-18.
2. Ortega, R., Kalyan-Seshu, U. and Bras, B., 1999, "A Decision Support Model for the Life-Cycle Design of a Family of Oil Filters," ASME Design Engineering Technical Conferences - Design Automation Conference, Las Vegas, NV, ASME, Paper No. DETC99/DAC-8612.
3. Hernandez, G., Allen, J. K. and Mistree, F., 2002, "Design of Hierarchic Platforms for Customizable Products," ASME Design Engineering Technical Conferences - Design Automation Conference, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, ASME, Paper No. DETC2002/DAC-34095.
4. Fujita, K., 2005, "Product Variety Optimization," Product Platform and Product Family Design: Methods and Applications, T. W. Simpson, Z. Siddique and J. Jiao, eds., Springer, New York, pp. 186-224.
5. Simpson, T. W. and D'Souza, B., 2004, "Assessing Variable Levels of Platform Commonality within a Product Family Using a Multiobjective Genetic Algorithm," Concurrent Engineering: Research and Applications, 12(2), pp. 119-130.
6. Fellini, R., Kokkolaras, M., Papalambros, P. and Perez-Duarte, A., 2005, "Platform Selection Under Performance Loss Constraints in Optimal Design of Product Families," ASME Journal of Mechanical Design, 127(4), pp. 524-535.
7. Simpson, T. W., 2005, "Methods for Optimizing Product Platforms and Product Families: Overview and Classification," Product Platform and Product Family Design: Methods and Applications, T. W. Simpson, Z. Siddique and J. Jiao, eds., Springer, New York, pp. 133-156.
8. Scott, M. J., Arenillas, J. C. G., Valliyappan, S., Simpson, T. W. and Allada, V., 2006, "Towards a Suite of Problems for Comparison of Product Platform Design Methods: A Proposed Classification," ASME Design Engineering Technical Conferences - Design Automation Conference, Philadelphia, PA, ASME, Paper No. DETC2006/DAC-99289.