Experimenting with the multiple worlds concept to support the design of automated container terminals

The complexity of systems requires design approaches that are more iterative and interactive to explore different design perspectives and to remain flexible for dynamic requirements and design contexts. This paper describes the multiple worlds approach to support multi actor participative design. The environment enables a group to explore, analyze and compare design alternatives based on a simulation of the performance of key components, and the system behavior in a 3D visualization. This environment allows stakeholders to visualize different perspectives as a structured overview of design choices. This helps the stakeholders to create shared understanding and increases the transparency of their decision process. In this paper we present the approach and the results of an experiment to evaluate the way in which the environment supports design.