Research and Analysis of Opportunities in Product Development Cost Estimation Through Expert Systems

The early stages of product development are characterized by uncertainties and assumption of parameters that directly affect the product and project costs, the development time, and the quality of the manufacturing process. Designers must deal with challenges that arise unexpectedly in an agile and responsive manner. Expert information systems based on ontological models are a promising approach to capture knowledge and rationale of domain specialists, either for decision making or knowledge reuse. The present study presents a bibliometric analysis on the use of ontologies in product development for cost estimation. It identifies trends and research opportunities that can orient future works. From a general search in scientific databases that originally listed thousands of entries, 31 articles were found and selected based on criteria established using the Proknow-C method. The outcome of the present study can help researchers in the search of relevant research gaps to guide future scientific investigations in the area of knowledge-based cost estimation for product development. Results indicate that there are several possibilities for solutions using ontological and hybrid, transdisciplinary approaches. In the search for solutions that support the product cost estimation in the early stages of development, the use of intelligent systems is not only promising, but is also challenging as a new and real transdisciplinary research area of interest.