Knowledge Articulation Method Using Design Data History

This paper proposes a methodology to articulate design knowledge using a design trace. A software system is developed to support the proposed methodology. The system is a kind of design navigator and is also a design data storage. Design data are stored in RDF format which is a standard metadata description language. By incorporating with the software, design knowledge is articulated through the following processes: (1) define initial workflow, (2) record the design trace, (3) generation tree of the design history and (4) interview with the designer to revise workflow and to determine the design knowledge. This methodology and the software were applied to the marine propeller design. Since this is a typical parametric design, all the input and output data are recorded and the articulation was made in the proposed manner. The workflow and knowledge was extracted successfully.