Cooperative system design in scheduling

In semi-automated workshops producing small or medium runs, the human factor plays a preeminent role in the decision making process. A computerized management is sought nonetheless, considering the great number of items to maintain. In this context, classical scheduling tools using optimization techniques are not flexible enough to provide a feasible plan. Cooperative scheduling, which means a collaboration between a human operator and a system, constitutes a promising alternative for managing production. In this paper, the authors present a methodology to implement cooperative scheduling. It is based on the converging of a top-down approach to functional design and a bottom-up approach to the cognitive design of human-computer interaction. The top-down approach relies on a constraint-based analysis that aims at providing a set of feasible schedules for decision making. The bottom-up approach consists of a knowledge acquisition phase, essentially using brainwriting techniques. An industrial application in...