Dynamic constraint handling in mass customization systems: A database solution
2020 (English)Independent thesis Basic level (university diploma), 10 credits / 15 HE credits
Student thesis
Abstract [en]
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to develop an architecture for a Mass Customization information system that allows for product customization restrictions being dynamically expressed through the database.
Method: A study evaluating an artifact made using Design Science Research. The evaluation was made using both a quantitative and a qualitative method.
Findings: Building upon a literature review to establish a knowledge base, an artifact was created using React and Node.js to build a web application combined with a Neo4j graph database. The artifact allows for products and their inherent restrictions to be dynamically added and modified through constraints defined in their data. This data can be used in the web application to assemble and customize components, where the constraints can be enforced by the web application in real time without any modification to the application.
The artifact can enforce all constraints that were intended and it was considered as a better overall solution for handling constraints compared to the currently used solution by Divid, a market leading company in the usage of Mass Customization systems with constraint handling in the context of ventilation systems.
Implications: The results implicate that the usage of graph database systems in Mass Customization systems holds great promise, specifically as a new way to handle constraints between components dynamically.
Limitations: The results from the expert panel only reflects the opinions of Divid and might not be true for other companies interested in this area. The artifact solution was successful in its purpose to illustrate the concept of dynamic constraint handling. However, it is still unclear if the system holds up in a professional context with more complex rules and heavy demands on performance.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2020.
Keywords [en]
Mass Customization, constraints, graph database, Neo4j, Cypher query language
National Category
Engineering and Technology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-50445ISRN: JU-JTH-DTA-1-20200113OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hj-50445DiVA, id: diva2:1462553
External cooperation
Divid AB
Subject / course
JTH, Computer Engineering
Supervisors
Examiners
2020-09-042020-08-312025-10-13Bibliographically approved