ABSTRACT
Failure occurs during the design process when Ml is unable to create a design that meets the specifications and ceilings on physical resources given by the user. While the cause of failure is sometimes attributable to unreasonable user input, both the design cycle and the nature of the problem also make Ml susceptible to failures. This is because Ml makes design decisions using only local infor mation, thereby attempting to optimize each individual choice without regard to its impact on later decisions. Since interactions between various subproblems, and therefore design decisions, are not predictable, the ramifications of a deci sion are impossible to foretell. Thus, while a decision may appear sound when made, it may cause the design process to fail later. As a result, Ml has a set of techniques for recovering from failures.
