The Graft-Host method for design change

The authors report on the Graft-Host (G-H) method, a practical method for changing designs incrementally by means of graft-and-repair steps. The method is not automated. Computational support to designers applying G-H comes in the form of tools to help them reuse design information and manage databases of constraints. The method derives its strength from the reuse of analysis and design information. Some key features of G-H are: evaluation of grafts and host systems at the analysis and design level by reusing information from technology books (G. Arango et al., 1993); reuse and adaptation of software components driven by analysis and design considerations; evaluation of designs along multiple design dimensions; and composition of change rationales as formal explanations of change propagation and change tradeoff analyses. The G-H method was validated on the redesign of industrial products in the context of technology books