Design concept evaluation in the early phase of product design plays a crucial role in new product development as it considerably determines the direction of subsequent design activities. However, it is a process involving uncertainty and subjectivity. The evaluation information mainly relies on expert’s subjective judgment, which is imprecise and uncertain. How to effectively and objectively evaluate the design concept under such subjective and uncertain environments remains an open question. To fill this gap, this paper proposes a fuzzy rough number-enhanced group decision-making framework for design concept evaluation by integrating a fuzzy rough number-based AHP (analytic hierarchy process) and a fuzzy rough number-based TOPSIS (technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution). First of all, a fuzzy rough number is presented to aggregate personal risk assessment information and to manipulate the uncertainty and subjectivity during the decision-making. Then a fuzzy rough number-based AHP is developed to determine the criteria weights. A fuzzy rough number-based TOPSIS is proposed to conduct the alternative ranking. A practical case study is put forward to illustrate the applicability of the proposed decision-making framework. Experimental results and comparative studies demonstrate the superiority of the fuzzy rough number-based method in dealing with the uncertainty and subjectivity in design concept evaluation under group decision-making environment.

产品设计早期的设计概念评估在新产品开发中起着至关重要的作用，因为它在很大程度上决定了后续设计活动的方向。但是，这是一个涉及不确定性和主观性的过程。评价信息主要依靠专家的主观判断，这种主观判断是不准确和不确定的。在这样的主观和不确定的环境下，如何有效和客观地评估设计概念仍然是一个悬而未决的问题。为了弥补这一空白，本文提出了一种基于模糊粗糙数的层次分析法（AHP）和基于模糊粗糙数的TOPSIS（订单偏好技术）相结合的，用于设计概念评估的模糊粗糙数增强群决策框架。类似于理想解决方案）。首先，提出了一个模糊的粗糙数，以汇总个人风险评估信息，并在决策过程中操纵不确定性和主观性。然后，开发了基于模糊粗糙数的层次分析法来确定标准权重。提出了一种基于模糊粗糙数的TOPSIS算法进行替代排序。提出了一个实际案例研究，以说明所提出的决策框架的适用性。实验结果和比较研究表明，在群体决策环境下，基于模糊粗糙数的方法在处理设计概念评价中的不确定性和主观性方面具有优势。然后，开发了基于模糊粗糙数的层次分析法来确定标准权重。提出了一种基于模糊粗糙数的TOPSIS算法进行替代排序。提出了一个实际的案例研究来说明所提出的决策框架的适用性。实验结果和比较研究表明，在群体决策环境下，基于模糊粗糙数的方法在处理设计概念评价中的不确定性和主观性方面具有优势。然后，开发了基于模糊粗糙数的层次分析法来确定标准权重。提出了一种基于模糊粗糙数的TOPSIS算法进行替代排序。提出了一个实际案例研究，以说明所提出的决策框架的适用性。实验结果和比较研究表明，在群体决策环境下，基于模糊粗糙数的方法在处理设计概念评价中的不确定性和主观性方面具有优势。