Publication

Digital Engineering / Systems Engineering
2022

CURRENT PRACTICE OF VISUALIZATIONS FOR TRADESPACE EXPLORATION: A LITERATURE STUDY

by Meredith Sutton; Cameron Turner; John Wagner; David Gorsich; Denise Rizzo; Greg Hartman; Rachel Agusti; Annette Skowronska; Matthew Castanier

Abstract

Tradespace exploration (TSE) is a key component of conceptual design or materiel solution phases that revolves around multi-stakeholder decision making. The TSE process as presented in literature is discussed, including the various stages, tools, and decision making approaches. The decision-making process, summarized herein, can be aided in various ways; one key intervention is the use of visualizations. Characteristics of good visualizations are presented before discussion of a promising avenue for visualization: immersive reality. Immersive reality includes virtual reality representations as well as tactile feedback; however, there are aspects of immersive reality that must be considered as well, such as cognitive loads and accessibility. From the literature, major trends were identified, including that TSE focuses on value but can suffer when not framed as a group decision, the need for testing of proposed TSE support systems, and the need to consider user populations and cognitive loads when developing new visualizations.