Multi-agent simulation of partner selection behaviour based on matching degree in collaborative product development process

Shuo Zhang, Yingzi Li 

Dongling School of Economics and Management, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, China

Collaborative Product Development (CPD) process is characterized by autonomous task control, dynamic task sequence, and frequent team collaboration, which endow the process with high flexibility and uncertainty. To make the process predictable and improve process efficiency, it is essential to model, simulate, and analyse the process by considering all these characteristics. Our work focuses on studying the human working behaviours in CPD process by agent-based simulation, which we think is the main source of process uncertainty and flexibility. In this paper, the partner selection behaviours are studied under the frame of agent-based simulation. In the simulation, the design agent selects his partner according to matching degree including ability and character. The simulation results indicate that the proposed utility strategy can effectively shorten the project total time of the case.