Invitation

In the engineering research community, there is a growing recognition that decisions are the fundamental construct in engineering design. As an emerging perspective on design theory, Decision-Based Design (DBD) provides a framework within which the design research community could conceive, articulate, verify and promote theories of design. The Journal of Engineering Design & Automation will publish a special issue in 1999 on Decision-Based Design, which will document the Status and Promise of recent developments in DBD. You are invited to submit an article for this special issue.

Topics

DBD is an emerging perspective on design theory as evidenced by National Science Foundation (NSF) sponsored workshop, entitled "An Open Workshop on Decision-Based Design: Status and Promise", (please visit http://www.eng.buffalo.edu/Research/DBD for details). DBD emphasizes decision-making as an important part of design that cannot be ignored during a design process. Under this perspective, design is viewed as a decision-making process that involves maximizing the value of a designed artifact to both the producer and the end-user. The design process operates in an environment characterized by ambiguity, uncertainty and risk, complicating the decision-making processes. You are invited to submit papers that provide insight into research issues associated with the development of design theories that are anchored in the perspective of Decision-Based Design. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

Dissemination

Papers accepted for the special issue will also be published at the NSF sponsored Open Workshop on DBD (http://www.eng.buffalo.edu/Research/DBD). The purpose of the open workshop is to engage design theory researchers in scholarly and collegial dialogue to establish a rigorous and common foundation for DBD.

Submission

All submissions will be subject to the review guidelines and policies of the Journal of Engineering Design & Automation (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.). Authors interested in contributing to this special issue should submit five copies of a full paper, including the title, authors names and affiliations, telephone and fax numbers, and E-mail addresses to one of the Guest Editors by October 30, 1998. The submission should also include an abstract and the key words. Manuscript must be typed double-spaced on only one side of each sheet. If the text is composed/typeset, the line space must be 24 points and the type size 12 points. Please avoid footnotes and include the material intended for footnotes in the text as parenthetical material. Supply numbers and titles for tables/figures and indicate in the margin of the paper where each table/figure should be placed. Tables/figures can be placed at the end of the manuscript. The list of references must be numbered consecutively and should include (in the following order) author (names), title, journal (or book & publisher), volume, issue numbers, page numbers, and year of publication.