Modeling relationships among design activities

In this paper, a graph theoretic approach for transformation and analysis of a network of design activities with different types of logical relationships is presented. In addition to the AND type relationship, OR and EXCLUSIVE OR relationships may exist between design activities. This relationship is captured using the IDEF3 notation. The algorithm generates various alternative precedence networks and clusters of design activities in each of these precedence networks. These alternative transformations are further used to analyze the risk of violating the due date of the design activity network. The concepts introduced in this paper are illustrated with an example.