A data-mining approach for product conceptualization in a web-based architecture

Rapid advancing information technology (IT) has improved the efficiency and effectiveness of product conceptualization and increased the importance of its role in new product development (NPD). However, there are two major omissions in existing work: firstly, a unified framework in the process of product conceptualization has not been well addressed; and secondly, it is imperative to attain an effective data-mining approach to support the product conceptualization process. Based on this understanding, the proposed approach aims at postulating an axiomatic product conceptualization system (APCS) to meet the demand of product concept development. The proposed APCS comprises three cohesively interacting modules, namely, knowledge elicitation module using laddering technique; knowledge representation module using design knowledge hierarchy (DKH); and knowledge synthesis module using restricted Coulomb energy (RCE) neural network. Accordingly, this system offers a method of making design decisions via a web-based data-mining product conceptualization approach. A case study on wood golf club design has been used for system illustration.