Interactive Tool for Specifying Factor Relationships in Design Structure

Abstract

A computing device obtains first and second factors for a nesting design and first and second sets of candidate options for the first and second factors, respectively. The computing device also receives a nesting indication that the second factor is nested within the first factor. The computing device generates the nesting design by portioning the first and second sets of candidate options into respective first and second different sets of groups. Based on the nesting indication, the computing device generates an assignment of groups for a design, and also selects options in the nesting design for the first and second factors based on the assignment of groups. The computing device also generates terms for a computer model for a computer simulation of the nesting design, as well as one or more computer-generated assessments of the nesting design based on the computer simulation.

1 . A computer-program product tangibly embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, the computer-program product including system instructions operable to cause a computing system to:
 obtain a first factor for a nesting design and a first set of candidate options for the first factor;   obtain a second factor for the nesting design and a second set of candidate options for the second factor;   display, in an interactive graphical user interface, first and second user controls representing the first and second factors, respectively;   receive, using the interactive graphical user interface, user input arranging the second user control to be nested within the first user control;   receive, using the interactive graphical user interface and responsive to the arranging, a nesting indication that the second factor is nested within the first factor;   responsive to receiving the nesting indication, generate an adjustable design structure representing the nesting design and one or more cross-relationships between factors in the nesting design by:
 portioning, by the computing system, the first set of candidate options into at least two groups of a first set of groups; 
 portioning, by the computing system, the second set of candidate options into at least two groups of a second set of groups, wherein the first set of groups and the second set of groups are different; 
 generating, based on the nesting indication, an assignment of groups by the computing system for a design, wherein the assignment of groups assigns a first group from the first set of groups for use with a second group of the second set of groups in the nesting design; 
 selecting, by the computing system, based on the assignment of groups, options in the nesting design for the first factor from the first set of candidate options; and 
 selecting, by the computing system, based on the assignment of groups, options in the nesting design for the second factor from the second set of candidate options; and 
 wherein the adjustable design structure is configured to determine an order in which the first and second factors appear in the nesting design; 
   generate a computer simulation of the nesting design, wherein to generate the computer simulation, the system instructions are operable to cause the computing system to generate terms for a computer model for the computer simulation of the nesting design, and wherein an amount of terms in the computer model are constrained by the computing system according to the nesting indication that the second factor is nested within the first factor;   execute the computer simulation of the nesting design according to the terms generated for the computer model;   receive one or more responses output by the computer simulation; and   generate one or more computer-generated assessments of the nesting design based on the one or more responses output by the computer simulation of the nesting design according to the computer model, wherein the one or more responses output by the computer simulation are input parameters for generating the one or more computer-generated assessments.   
     
     
         2 . The computer-program product of  claim 1 , wherein the system instructions are operable to cause the computing system to:
 generate the assignment of groups such that any group from the first set of groups is only assigned one group from the second set of groups; and   generate the nesting design based on selecting options for the first factor from a first group of the first set of groups and selecting options for the second factor from a second group of the second set of groups assigned to the first group according to the assignment of groups.   
     
     
         3 . The computer-program product of  claim 1 , wherein the system instructions are operable to cause the computing system to:
 select options for the first factor and the second factor as input into the computer simulation simulating one or more responses according to the nesting design; and   receive the one or more responses output by the computer simulation based on the input.   
     
     
         4 . The computer-program product of  claim 1 , wherein the system instructions are operable to cause the computing system to:
 display, in the graphical user interface, the one or more computer-generated assessments;   receive using the graphical user interface a change indication to change one or more of:
 an amount of factors in the nesting design; 
 an amount or range of candidate options for a given factor of the nesting design; and 
 an amount of replicates of design cases in the nesting design; and 
   update the graphical user interface to display at least one updated computer-generated assessment accounting for the change indication.   
     
     
         5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . The computer-program product of  claim 1 , wherein the system instructions are operable to cause the computing system to:
 obtain a third factor and a third set of candidate options for the third factor;   receive, using the graphical user interface, a cross indication that the third factor is crossed with one or more of the first factor or the second factor; and   generate the nesting design in which:
 selected options for the third factor from the third set of candidate options are distributed in design cases amongst factors in which the third factor is crossed; and 
 selected options for the second factor from the second set of candidate options are constrained according to the assignment of groups. 
   
     
     
         7 . The computer-program product of  claim 1 , wherein the system instructions are operable to cause the computing system to:
 obtain a third factor and a third set of candidate options for the third factor;   receive a subsequent indication that the third factor is nested within the second factor; and   wherein the amount of terms in the computer model are constrained by the computing system according to the nesting indication and the subsequent indication.   
     
     
         8 . The computer-program product of  claim 1 , wherein the system instructions are operable to cause the computing system to:
 receive the nesting indication by displaying in the graphical user interface a guided prompt for user input indicating the second factor is nested within the first factor; and   generate the one or more computer-generated assessments by generating computing instructions for the one or more computer-generated assessments based on the guided prompt.   
     
     
         9 . The computer-program product of  claim 1 , wherein the system instructions are operable to cause the computing system to:
 receive the nesting indication by receiving a level in a nesting hierarchy for each factor of the nesting design; and   generate the one or more computer-generated assessments based on the nesting hierarchy.   
     
     
         10 . The computer-program product of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the nesting indication further indicates to cross a third factor with both the second factor and the first factor; or   the nesting indication further indicates to cross a third factor with the first factor, then nest the second factor within the first factor.   
     
     
         11 . The computer-program product of  claim 1 , wherein the nesting indication further indicates to fully nest a series of multiple factors in a design. 
     
     
         12 . The computer-program product of  claim 1 , wherein the system instructions are operable to cause the computing system to:
 generate, in response to the nesting indication, a computing structure indicating nesting and cross relationships between factors in the nesting design, wherein the computing structure comprises one or more of a computing vector, computing list and a computing array; and   portion the first set of candidate options and the second set of candidate options based on the computing structure.   
     
     
         13 . The computer-program product of  claim 1 , wherein the system instructions are operable to cause the computing system to:
 generate the one or more computer-generated assessments of the nesting design by generating computer-generated assessments for assessed factors, or assessed interaction of crossed factors, in the nesting design; and   display, in the graphical user interface, an indication of nesting relationships for the assessed factors, or the assessed interaction of crossed factors.   
     
     
         14 . The computer-program product of  claim 1 , wherein the computing system is configured to generate terms for the computer model by determining one or more model types based on one or more factor statuses for the first factor indicating one or more of:
 the first factor is nesting another factor of the nesting design,   the first factor is nested within another factor of the nesting design, and   the first factor is crossed with another factor of the nesting design.   
     
     
         15 . The computer-program product of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the first factor is a categorical factor, and the first set of candidate options comprise category options for the first factor; and   wherein the second factor is a continuous factor, and the second set of candidate options comprises a range set of one or more ranges for options for the second factor; and   wherein the portioning the first set of candidate options comprises distributing the category options to each group of the first set of groups; and   wherein the portioning the second set of candidate options comprises distributing one or more ranges of the range set to each group of the second set of groups.   
     
     
         16 . The computer-program product of  claim 1 , wherein the system instructions are operable to cause the computing system to:
 generate multiple candidate designs;   generate the nesting design by selecting from the multiple candidate designs based on the one or more computer-generated assessments; and   display a graphical representation of the nesting design in the graphical user interface, wherein the graphical user interface indicates nesting relationships for factors in the nesting design.   
     
     
         17 . The computer-program product of  claim 1 , wherein the system instructions are operable to cause the computing system to:
 obtain the first factor and the second factor pertaining for a design for a measurement system analysis, wherein the measurement system analysis comprises measurement tests for evaluating a product set comprising one or more industrial products; and   generate the one or more computer-generated assessments indicating one or more of:
 a variability caused by a factor of the measurement system analysis; 
 a likelihood of classification into one of multiple groups for the product set according to a measurement standard; and 
 a likelihood of going beyond a threshold related to the measurement standard. 
   
     
     
         18 . The computer-program product of  claim 1 , wherein the computing system is configured to generate terms for the computer model by:
 displaying, in the graphical user interface, computer-generated model terms indicating terms of a nested type; and   receiving user input indicating to further exclude at least one model term of the computer-generated model terms.   
     
     
         19 . The computer-program product of  claim 18 , wherein the computing system is configured to generate terms for the computer model by displaying, in the graphical user interface, the computer-generated model terms further indicating terms of an interaction type for crossed factors of the nesting design. 
     
     
         20 . The computer-program product of  claim 1 , wherein the computing system is configured to generate terms for the computer model by:
 receiving, using the graphical user interface, a cross indication that the second factor is crossed with the first factor;   generating an additional graphical user interface displaying candidate computer-generated model terms;   receiving the nesting indication subsequent to the cross indication; and   updating the additional graphical user interface to display less total computer-generated terms than the candidate computer-generated model terms.   
     
     
         21 . A computer-implemented method comprising:
 obtaining a first factor for a nesting design and a first set of candidate options for the first factor;   obtaining a second factor for the nesting design and a second set of candidate options for the second factor;   displaying, in an interactive graphical user interface, first and second user controls representing the first and second factors, respectively;   receiving, using the interactive graphical user interface, user input arranging the second user control to be nested within the first user control;   receiving, using the interactive graphical user interface and responsive to the arranging, a nesting indication that the second factor is nested within the first factor;   responsive to receiving the nesting indication, generating an adjustable design structure representing the nesting design and one or more cross-relationships between factors in the nesting design by:
 portioning, by a computing system, the first set of candidate options into at least two groups of a first set of groups; 
 portioning, by the computing system, the second set of candidate options into at least two groups of a second set of groups, wherein the first set of groups and the second set of groups are different; 
 generating, based on the nesting indication, an assignment of groups by the computing system for a design, wherein the assignment of groups assigns a first group from the first set of groups for use with a second group of the second set of groups in the nesting design; 
 selecting, by the computing system, based on the assignment of groups, options in the nesting design for the first factor from the first set of candidate options; and 
 selecting, by the computing system, based on the assignment of groups, options in the nesting design for the second factor from the second set of candidate options; and 
 wherein the adjustable design structure is configured to determine an order in which the first and second factors appear in the nesting design; 
   generating a computer simulation of the nesting design by generating terms for a computer model for the computer simulation of the nesting design, and wherein an amount of terms in the computer model are constrained by the computing system according to the nesting indication that the second factor is nested within the first factor;   executing the computer simulation of the nesting design according to the terms generated for the computer model;   receiving one or more responses output by the computer simulation; and   generating one or more computer-generated assessments of the nesting design based on the one or more responses output by the computer simulation of the nesting design according to the computer model, wherein the one or more responses output by the computer simulation are input parameters for generating the one or more computer-generated assessments.   
     
     
         22 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 ,
 wherein the generating the assignment of groups comprises generating the assignment of groups such that any group from the first set of groups is only assigned one group from the second set of groups; and   wherein the generating the nesting design comprises generating the nesting design based on selecting options for the first factor from a first group of the first set of groups and selecting options for the second factor from a second group of the second set of groups assigned to the first group according to the assignment of groups.   
     
     
         23 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 ,
 wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises:
 selecting options for the first factor and the second factor as input into the computer simulation simulating the one or more responses according to the nesting design; and 
 receiving the one or more responses output by the computer simulation based on the input. 
   
     
     
         24 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises:
 displaying, in the graphical user interface, the one or more computer-generated assessments;   receiving using the graphical user interface a change indication to change one or more of:
 an amount of factors in the nesting design; 
 an amount or range of candidate options for a given factor of the nesting design; and 
 an amount of replicates of design cases in the nesting design; and 
   updating the graphical user interface to display at least one updated computer-generated assessment accounting for the change indication.   
     
     
         25 . (canceled) 
     
     
         26 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 ,
 wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises:
 obtaining a third factor and a third set of candidate options for the third factor; and 
 receiving, using the graphical user interface, a cross indication that the third factor is crossed with one or more of the first factor or the second factor; and 
   wherein the generating the nesting design comprises generating the nesting design in which:
 selected options for the third factor from the third set of candidate options are distributed in design cases amongst factors in which the third factor is crossed; and 
 selected options for the second factor from the second set of candidate options are constrained according to the assignment of groups. 
   
     
     
         27 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 ,
 wherein the computer-implemented method further comprises:
 obtaining a third factor and a third set of candidate options for the third factor; and 
 receiving a subsequent indication that the third factor is nested within the second factor; and 
   wherein the amount of terms in the computer model are constrained by the computing system according to the nesting indication and the subsequent indication.   
     
     
         28 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 ,
 wherein the receiving the nesting indication comprises displaying in the graphical user interface a guided prompt for user input indicating the second factor is nested within the first factor; and   wherein the generating the one or more computer-generated assessments comprises generating computing instructions for the one or more computer-generated assessments based on the guided prompt.   
     
     
         29 . The computer-implemented method of  claim 21 , wherein the generating terms for the computer model comprises:
 displaying, in the graphical user interface, computer-generated model terms indicating terms of a nested type; and   receiving user input indicating to further exclude at least one model term of the computer-generated model terms.   
     
     
         30 . A computing device comprising processor and memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processor wherein the computing device is configured to:
 obtain a first factor for a nesting design and a first set of candidate options for the first factor;   obtain a second factor for the nesting design and a second set of candidate options for the second factor;   display, in an interactive graphical user interface, first and second user controls representing the first and second factors, respectively;   receive, using the interactive graphical user interface, user input arranging the second user control to be nested within the first user control;   receive, using the interactive graphical user interface and responsive to the arranging, a nesting indication that the second factor is nested within the first factor;   responsive to receiving the nesting indication, generate an adjustable design structure representing the nesting design and one or more cross-relationships between factors in the nesting design by:
 portioning, by the computing device, the first set of candidate options into at least two groups of a first set of groups; 
 portioning, by the computing device, the second set of candidate options into at least two groups of a second set of groups, wherein the first set of groups and the second set of groups are different; 
 generating, based on the nesting indication, an assignment of groups by the computing device for a design, wherein the assignment of groups assigns a first group from the first set of groups for use with a second group of the second set of groups in the nesting design; 
 selecting, by the computing device, based on the assignment of groups, options in the nesting design for the first factor from the first set of candidate options; and 
 selecting, by the computing device, based on the assignment of groups, options in the nesting design for the second factor from the second set of candidate options; and 
 wherein the adjustable design structure is configured to determine an order in which the first and second factors appear in the nesting design; 
   generate a computer simulation of the nesting design, wherein to generate the computer simulation, the system instructions are operable to cause the computing system to generate terms for a computer model for the computer simulation of the nesting design, and wherein an amount of terms in the computer model are constrained by the computing device according to the nesting indication that the second factor is nested within the first factor;   execute the computer simulation of the nesting design according to the terms generated for the computer model;   receive one or more responses output by the computer simulation; and   generate one or more computer-generated assessments of the nesting design based on the one or more responses output by the computer simulation of the nesting design according to the computer model, wherein the one or more responses output by the computer simulation are input parameters for generating the one or more computer-generated assessments.