In many cases, the use of product configurators provides a number of benefits for engineering-oriented companies, such as shorter lead times, the use of fewer man hours, and improved product quality. However, not all of these projects are successful. The task of defining what should be implemented into the configurator is much more complex than anticipated in many configurator projects. In the worst-case scenario, this implies that the configurator is never fully developed or it fails to support the users in a satisfactory manner. The difficulties in creating adequate specifications of what to implement in the knowledge base of a configurator have been explained in much of the configuration literature by the assumption that much of the relevant knowledge of the product experts is tacit. However, this paper shows that this kind of explanation can be misleading and may even be incorrect. This is accomplished by discussing the problems inherent in such explanations and through interviews with configuration project knowledge engineers. Therefore, according to this basis, this paper provides general recommendations concerning the use of the term tacit knowledge and outlines issues related to the acquisition of product knowledge in configuration projects.

The development in (Dutch) building practice necessitates developments in other aspects, besides specialized and professional skills, a new integral approach in education and the introduction of such an approach into building design practice. In 2005, the Faculty of Architecture, Building, and Planning of the University of Technology Eindhoven commenced a multidisciplinary master project on integral design focused on a sustainable climatic design. Students of architecture, building technology, structural engineering, and building services participated in these multidisciplinary master projects. The students began with a 2-day learning-by-practice workshop that was implemented and tested in collaboration with experienced professionals from the Royal Institute of Dutch Architects and the Dutch Association of Consulting Engineers. These workshops have become part of the permanent educational and professional program of the Royal Institute of Dutch Architects. This is one of the few projects in which the practical experience is transferred into the educational academic program and vice versa; normally this process functions only in one of the two directions. The theoretical basis of the design method on which the education of students and professionals is based is discussed and results presented.

Constraint sets can become inconsistent in different contexts. For example, during a configuration session the set of customer requirements can become inconsistent with the configuration knowledge base. Another example is the engineering phase of a configuration knowledge base where the underlying constraints can become inconsistent with a set of test cases. In such situations we are in the need of techniques that support the identification of minimal sets of faulty constraints that have to be deleted in order to restore consistency. In this paper we introduce a divide and conquer-based diagnosis algorithm (FastDiag) that identifies minimal sets of faulty constraints in an overconstrained problem. This algorithm is specifically applicable in scenarios where the efficient identification of leading (preferred) diagnoses is crucial. We compare the performance of FastDiag with the conflict-directed calculation of hitting sets and present an in-depth performance analysis that shows the advantages of our approach.

The subject of this paper is design intentionality. The paper is concerned with the property of the mind to hold intentional states (its capacity to represent or reflect existing and nonexisting realities) and with the way that these mental states are constructed during design tasks. The aim is to develop a mathematical theory of design intentionality, capturing the structures and processes that characterize an intentional system with the mental ability to address design tasks. The philosophical notion of intentionality is approached methodologically from a complexity theoretic perspective. More specifically, the focus is placed on the mathematical characterization of the organizational complexity of intentional states and the type of phase transitions that occur on the mental states of an intentional system during design tasks. The paper uses category theory in order to build a framework that is able to mathematically capture the meaning of these notions.

Integrated design synthesizes combinations of options into alternatives that take advantage of interactions to maximize multidisciplinary value. As resources become further constrained, options become more numerous, and goals become increasingly complex, it is more critical and more challenging for design teams to find these integrated solutions. Theory proposes the integration of transformation, flow, and value views as necessary to support such integrated design. This paper develops requirements for these views that encourage flexible yet systematic integrated conceptual design processes. It then illustrates how these requirements are only partially satisfied by current design management systems, provides motivating case studies, and introduces a new framework, multiattribute interaction design (MAID), to fill this void by systematically guiding design teams to explicitly consider the potential interactions of options and the resulting value of design solutions. The paper defines the terms relevant to design space exploration and interactions. It then defines the MAID method and specifies metrics and a process for its validation. Initial laboratory charettes carry out first validations, illustrating evidence for how MAID can help integrate transformation, flow, and value views and lead teams of students to discover and record more interactions in a relatively short amount of time. The paper then lists future work required to further develop and validate MAID.