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Abstract : |
Abstract. Complex products such as motor vehicles or computers need to be configured as part of the sales process [3, 8]. If the sale is electronic, then the configuration and some validity checking of the order must be done electronically as part of an electronic product data management system (EPDMS). The EPDMS typically maintains a data base of sales options and parts together with a set of logical constraints expressing valid combinations of sales options and their transformation into manufacturable products. Due to the complexity of these constraints, creation and maintenance of the configuration data base is a nontrivial task and error-prone. We present our system BIS which is commercially used to check global consistency assertions about the product data base used by the EPDMS of a major car and truck manufacturer. The EPDMS uses Boolean logic to encode the constraints, and BIS translates the consistency assertions into problems which it solves using a propositional satisfiability checker. We expect our approach to be especially suited for rapidly changing complex products as they increasingly appear in electronic commerce. 1, |
