Design Problem Solving

Preface and Acknowledgements

This book owes its origin to the Ph.D. dissertation by David C. Brown completed in

August 1984, under the supervision of B. Chandrasekaran, that describes the

application of the generic task methodology developed by the latter to the problem of

routine design. Chapters 3 onwards reflect the work reported in the dissertation,

updated appropriately. The analysis of design as an information processing activity

(Chapter 2) is of more recent vintage, as is the description of the generic task

methodology and the discussion of what constitutes the essence of the Al approach to

problem solving (Chapter 1).

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