空間的構造と時間的構造を同時に決定する問題解決フレームワーク

抄録

Problem solving is a basic human activity which fills gaps between requirements and reality. In general, requirements can be represented by a spatial structure and a temporal one. Similarly, facts of the real world contain spatial and temporal structures. In spite of close relationship between spatial and temporal structures, most of conventional problem solving frameworks determine either of them at a time. This paper proposes a new problem solving framework in which both a spatial structure and a temporal structure are determined concurrently. Moreover, the framework deals with ill-defined problems in which the problem itself is not yet clarified in advance. The framework, first, clarifies the problem in a computer, while the requirements and the facts are represented by primitives and their connections. In the next step, a constraint satisfaction module and a state transition module are performed to maintain consistency in the structures. The former module determines the problem structure spatially, and the latter determines temporally, so that these two modules are complementary. Finally in the third step, some solution candidates are visualized in order to evaluate with the external human knowledge. This step leads a human to represent uncertain part of the problem and enforce to articulate new knowledge. This paper illustrates the proposed framework using a simple example of problem solving. After discussing the results of the example, this paper concludes that the framework has advantages of usability of informal and fragmentary knowledge in problem solving. Furthermore, particularly in cases where creativity is demanded, the features of the framework are expected to make some creative solutions.