Design Knowledge Management Based on a Model of Synthesis

In this paper, we report the development of a design knowledge management system, called DDMS (Design Documentation Management System). By recording design documents during design, DDMS encourages a designer to externalize his/her knowledge and facilitates sharing and reuse of such externalized design knowledge in later stages. DDMS works as a front end to KIEF (Knowledge Intensive Engineering Framework), which we have been developing over years. KIEF is capable of integrating multiple design object models and of maintaining consistency among these models. DDMS automatically generates design documents after analyzing design log data and guides designers with design process knowledge based on a model of synthesis. We also illustrate an example of laser lithography design to demonstrate the features of DDMS.