Learning for design reuse

Over the past decade 'design assistance', i.e. where the computer is viewed as an Intelligent Design Assistant (IDA) [MacCallum-etal85], has emerged in knowledge based design support and has formed the basic research strategy for the CAD Centre, University of Strathclyde, since the mid-80s. Within this philosophy, an IDA would act as a colleague to a designer, providing guidance, learning from past design experiences, carrying out semi and fully automated tasks, explaining its reasoning and in essence complementing the designer's own natural skills, and thus leaving the ultimate decision making, control and responsibility with the designer .