Examining the Roles of Product Complexity and Manager Behavior on Product Design Decisions: An Agent-Based Study Using NK Simulation

2016 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilaria Giannoccaro ◽  
Anand Nair
Keyword(s):  
Product Design ◽  
Product Complexity ◽  
Design Decisions ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Manager Behavior

Strategic Design Decisions for Uncertain Market Systems Using an Agent Based Approach

2011 ◽  
Vol 133 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Wang ◽  
S. Azarm ◽  
P. K. Kannan
Keyword(s):  
Product Design ◽  
Theoretic Approach ◽  
Competitive Strategies ◽  
Market System ◽  
Design Decisions ◽  
Learning Behaviors ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Strategic Design ◽  
Game Theoretic ◽  
Design For Market Systems

Market players, such as competing manufacturing firms and retail channels, can significantly influence the demand and profit of a new product. Existing methods in design for market systems use game theoretic models that can maximize a firm’s profit with respect to the product design and price variables given the Nash equilibrium of the market system. However, in the design for uncertain market systems, there is seldom equilibrium with players having fixed strategies in a given time period. In this paper, we propose an agent based approach for design for market systems that accounts for learning behaviors of the market players under uncertainty. By learning behaviors we mean that market players gradually, over time, learn to play with better strategies based on action–reaction behaviors of other players. We model a market system with agents representing competing manufacturers and retailers who possess learning capabilities and based on some prespecified rules are able to react and make decisions on the product design and pricing. The proposed agent based approach provides strategic design and pricing decisions for a manufacturing firm in response to possible reactions from market players in the short and long term horizons. Our example results show that the proposed approach can produce competitive strategies for the firm by simulating market players’ learning behaviors when they react only by setting prices, as compared to a game theoretic approach. Furthermore, it can yield profitable product design decisions and competitive strategies when competing firms react by changing design variables in the short term—case for which no previous method in design for market systems has been reported.

Strategic Product Design Decisions for Uncertain Market Systems Using an Agent Based Approach

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Wang ◽  
S. Azarm ◽  
P. K. Kannan
Keyword(s):  
Product Design ◽  
Theoretic Approach ◽  
Competitive Strategies ◽  
Market System ◽  
Design Decisions ◽  
Learning Behaviors ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Game Theoretic ◽  
Design For Market Systems

Market players, such as competing manufacturing firms and retail channels, can significantly influence the demand and profit of a new product. Existing methods in design for market systems use game theoretic models that can maximize a focal manufacturing firm’s profit with respect to product design and price variables given the Nash equilibrium of the market system. However, in the design for uncertain market systems, there is seldom equilibrium with players having fixed strategies in a given time period. In this paper, we propose an agent based approach for design for market systems that accounts for learning behaviors of the market players under uncertainty. By learning behaviors we mean that market players gradually, over a time period, learn to play with better strategies based on action-reaction behaviors of other players. We model a market system with agents representing competing manufacturers and retailers who possess learning capabilities and are able to automatically react and make decisions on the product design and pricing. The proposed approach provides strategic design and pricing decisions for a focal manufacturer in response to anticipated reactions from market players in the short and long term horizons. Our example results show that the proposed agent based approach can produce competitive strategies for a focal firm over a time period when market players react only by setting prices compared to a game theoretic approach. Furthermore, it can yield profitable product design decisions and competitive strategies when competing firms react by changing design attributes in the short term — a case for which no previous method in design for market systems has been reported.

scholarly journals Examining the Influence of Solar Panel Installers on Design Innovation and Market Penetration

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekaterina Sinitskaya ◽  
Kelley J. Gomez ◽  
Qifang Bao ◽  
Maria C. Yang ◽  
Erin F. MacDonald
Keyword(s):  
Product Design ◽  
Profit Maximization ◽  
Purchase Decisions ◽  
Market Penetration ◽  
Medium Term ◽  
Design Decisions ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Design Specifications ◽  
Stakeholder Influence ◽  
Novel Approach

This work uses an agent-based model to examine how installers of photovoltaic (PV) panels influence panel design and the success of residential solar energy. It provides a novel approach to modelling intermediary stakeholder influence on product design, focusing installer decisions instead of the typical solar stakeholder foci of the final customer (homeowners) and the designer/manufacturer. Installers restrict homeowner choice to a subset of all panel options available, and, consequentially, determine medium-term market dynamics in terms of quantity and design specifications of panel installations. This model investigates installer profit-maximization strategies of exploring new panel designs offered by manufacturers vs. exploiting market-tested technology. Manufacturer design decisions and homeowner purchase decisions are modeled. Realistic details provided from installer and homeowner interviews are included. For example, installers must estimate panel reliability instead of trusting manufacturer statistics, and homeowners make purchase decisions based in part on installer reputation. We find that installers pursue new and more-efficient panels over sticking-with market-tested technology under a variety of panel-reliability scenarios and two different state scenarios (California and Massachusetts). Results indicate that it does not matter if installers are predisposed to an exploration or exploitation strategy — both types choose to explore new panels with higher efficiency.

An agent-based web services solution to collaborative product design

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun-Che Huang ◽  
Tzu-Laing (. Tseng ◽  
Yongjin Kwon ◽  
Yen Yi Chou
Keyword(s):  
Web Services ◽  
Product Design ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Collaborative Product Design

An Agent-Based Approach to Collaborative Product Design

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Xun Wang ◽  
Ming Xi Tang
Keyword(s):  
Product Design ◽  
Data Structures ◽  
Collaborative Design ◽  
Design Management ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Collaborative Product Design ◽  
Efficiency And Effectiveness ◽  
Product Design Process ◽  
Representation Scheme ◽  
New Framework

The growth of computer science and technology has brought new opportunities for multidisciplinary designers and engineers to collaborate with each other in a concurrent and coordinated manner. The development of computational agents with unified data structures and software protocols can contribute to the establishment of a new way of working in collaborative design, which is increasingly becoming an international practice. In this paper, we first propose a computational model of collaborative product design management aiming to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the cooperation and coordination among participating disciplines. Then, we present a new framework of collaborative design which adopts an agent-based approach and relocates designers, managers, systems, and supporting agents in a unified knowledge representation scheme for product design. An agent-based system is now being implemented and the design of a set of dinning table and chairs is chosen to demonstrate how the system can help designers in the management and coordination of the collaborative product design process.

Understanding Collaborative Interaction for Varying Product Complexity

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 19-48
Author(s):  
Bijendra Kumar ◽  
Prabir Sarkar
Keyword(s):  
Product Design ◽  
Collaborative Design ◽  
Significant Interaction ◽  
New Product ◽  
Design Activity ◽  
Product Complexity ◽  
Collaborative Interaction ◽  
Modes Of Interaction ◽  
A Company ◽  
Varied Level

Small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) often develop products collaboratively. Significant interaction among designers is critical to the success of any collaborative design session. There exist various tools for remotely located interactions, such as textual, video, audio, screen share modes with varied level of cost; however, often, SMEs are unable to afford them. This work aims to identify the most appropriate mode that are required for a successful collaborative design for a given product complexity. The authors made three categories of collaborative design activity (i.e., designing an existing product, designing an existing assembly of the component, and designing a new product). The authors identified and categorized the appropriate modes of interaction for a particular level of product complexity. They conducted a number of experiments with products of increasing number of feature complexities to identify the minimum facility that a company should have to enable remotely located interactions during product design. Based on the requirement, a company can select the appropriate tool.

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