An Agent-Based Market System Simulation for Design Education

Abstract

In product design, there is often a disconnect between the engineers creating the product and the marketing team determining the best characteristics for the product. The decisions of engineers in designing a product, such as dimensions, materials, and tolerances, affect the look and feel of the product as seen by the consumer. This paper presents a methodology for creating a simulation to demonstrate basic relationships between product design decisions and the predicted success of the product in the market. An agent-based model is used to simulate the interactions among producers and consumers in a market system, using analysis techniques from engineering, economics, and psychology. The effects of design variables on product attributes influence the cost and consumer utility of the product, which, along with price, affect market dynamics. The goal of creating this model is for use in design curricula to introduce the concept of market-driven product design and allow student design teams to assess the impacts of different design variables on the market success of a product. The model has been introduced in an undergraduate engineering design class to explore its effectiveness in teaching market-driven design.