Define

• Takes inputs as needs or goals or functions
• Gives artifacts that satisfy them
• In problem solving, problem is fixed and solution evolves
• In design, both problem and solution co evoloves.

Design Basement

• height could have been some default value 8 or 9 or 10 etc.
• other values calculated based on available space after subtracting their area from total area.
• we want arrangement as per requirement
• David started with variables which were restricted or those that restrict others. Can impose ordering if large variables.

Defining Configuration

• Configuration is very routine, mundane design
• Design can be creative and complex usually

Suppose you want to fit all furnitures inside the hall of a house. And you want TV and couch to be facing each other, couch few feet away from Tv. You may want to first arrange TV and couch and then arrange other furnitures accordingly.

Configuration need not be physical. An airline booking system allocates seats as per certain constraints. Configuring options in a camera.

Note, that components of configuration (or specifically design) are already known. We are only deciding on arrangements of compoennts by assigning values associated with those components.

Process

Two way evolution. Both specification and configuration co evolves. RPM fits very well here. We start with a specification, design an agent, and then we also evolve the specification as we solve new problems. For eg, if agent takes too much time, we may want to optimize the specification and re design.

Chair

Note the material range is given on bottom left.

Applying a Constraint

Quiz

David had below knowledge while solving the problem

• First knowledge about chair, knew about components, all slots but not necessarily the fillers
• Second, applied heuristics about how to use fillers
• Third, not knowledge about chair as a whole, but how its decomposed in to those components.

Classification Connection

While classification is making sense of the world, configuration is like creating the world.

Contrast with Case based reasoning

Planning Connection

Configuration is a task, while Planning, CBR and Classifications are methods