CAD System Bias in Engineering Design
CAD System Bias in Engineering Design
Department of Computer and Information Sciences, De Montfort University, Milton Keynes, UK.
Engineering Design Centre, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge
Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Engineering Design
Technical University of Munich, Munich, 1999, volume 3 pp. 1413-1418.
Introduction. The tools engineering designers use exert a powerful influence over the products they develop. The potential for using computer systems as a positive force to direct the design process is well recognised by engineers. Some intelligent support systems such as Schemebuilder [e.g. Bracewell and Sharpe 1996] deliberately encourage a style of designing; others guide the design process according to systematic methodologies [e.g. Blessing 1994; Clarkson and Hamilton 1999]. But computer tools for design can constrain and bias engineering designers in unintended and harmful ways. Some of these influences are due to inherent limitations in the technology, but others reflect the neglect of human computer interaction issues by tool developers.
This paper presents a conceptual framework for analysing the biasing influences of design tools, using solid modellers and knitwear CAD systems to illustrate some of the harmful consequences of unintended bias. The major causes of bias are mismatches between the conceptual terms in which designers think about designs and the representations and operations provided by the tool; and distortions in the order in which designers consider issues and make decisions.
Keywords: Bias, unevenness, HCI, CAD, AI, design psychology.
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Martin Stacey
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Claudia Eckert
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