Decision Preferences, Constraints, and Evaluation Objectives in Layout Design: A Review of Modeling Techniques

The layout design is a ubiquitous problem in engineering and design that is intrinsically knowledge-intensive, complex, vague, ill-comprehended and ill-structured. Inadequate information processing capabilities in tandem with various subjective user preferences, design constraints, and fitness objectives often hamper the acquisition of a superior solution. Consequently, the incorporation of subjective, vague, and conflicting design preferences and objectives into the layout decision process is a difficult, nevertheless, an important task. In this regard, the importance of a sound understanding of existing and promising modeling techniques cannot be overemphasized. This paper provides a review of various modeling techniques employed for explicit representation of experts’ knowledge, subjective preferences, and evaluation objectives. Moreover, it delineates a subjective classification scheme for layout decision preferences for a better appreciation of the significance of uncertain preferences, constraints, and evaluation measures in obtaining superior solutions. In addition, it reports a small-scale study regarding subjective evaluation of such modeling techniques by a group of layout design experts. Finally, we provide some recommendations regarding selection of suitable preference modeling techniques in layout design.