Reference: Hayes-Roth, B.; Hewett, M.; Johnson Jr., M. V.; & Garvey, A. ACCORD: A Framework for a Class of Design Tasks. March, 1988.
Abstract: Arrangement problems - arrange a set of objects in a space to satisfy constraints - arise in a variety of domains and are amenable to solution by different methods, including constructive assembly. With the assembly method, a designer incrementaly constructs and refines a space of legal arrangements. Because the assembly method is computationally intensive, effective use of it demands an effective assembly strategy. To support application of the assembly method, ACCORD provides a domain-independent framework for representing and reasoning about assembly actions and strategies. We illustrate applications of ACCORD in the PROTEAN system for modeling protein structures and the SIGHTPLAN system for designing construction site layouts. We discuss ACCORD's utility with respect to system development, performance, and comprehensibility. Finally, we relate the present research to other research on design and constraint satisfaction and to work on generic reasoning frameworks.
Notes: 12 pages.