Complexity Analysis of Computational Engineering Design Processes

Abstract

Abstract An Important part of engineering design is development of the design process itself. In general, design processes are not unique; many solution processes can be created to solve the same problem. Choosing one from a number of competing design processes requires assessment and comparison of the processes according to well-defined criteria. This paper presents an initial study of complexity analysis as one such criterion. A graphical representation is proposed to provide a model of computational design processes that can be analyzed for complexity. Several software metrics are adapted for analyzing such design processes, and demonstrated with a simple design example. The results illustrate that complexity analysis can be used for differentiating among computational design processes.