Hierarchical imprecise design with weights

An extension to the method of imprecision that allows the decomposition or aggregation of imprecise design problems with weighted attributes is presented. The method of imprecision uses the preferences of the designer and customer to define fully sets that quantify the imprecision associated with a design attribute. These fuzzy sets, weighted by relative importance, are combined to produce an overall design measure. This paper introduces aggregation operators that can be hierarchically applied to combine weighted design attributes so that the structure of the design problem is appropriately modeled