Incorporation of evidences into an intelligent computational argumentation network for a web-based collaborative engineering design system

Conflicts among the stakeholders are unavoidable in the process of collaborative engineering design. Resolution of these conflicts is a challenging task. In our previous research, a web based intelligent collaborative system was developed which provides decision-making support, using computational argumentation techniques. Enhancements were done to this system to incorporate the priorities of the stakeholders and to detect arguments that self conflict. As an effort to make this system more effective and more objective in the process of decision making, we develop a method to assess the effect of evidences in the argumentation network, using Dempster-Shafer theory of evidence and fuzzy logic. One or more evidences can support or attack an argument or another evidence. Incorporation of evidences in the argumentation network makes the decision making process more objective, as the weights assigned to the arguments can be re-assessed according to the evidences associated with them.