It's the journey not the destination
Jakub Vincalek, Sean Peter Walton, Ben J. Evans · Proceedings of the Genetic and Evolutionary Computation Conference Companion · 2021
This poster paper presents 2 recommendations for algorithm developers as best practices in the context of engineering design. Genetic algorithms are well suited for multi-objective optimisation problems which are common in engineering. However, the use of genetic algorithms in industry remains low. To understand why, 23 participants (N = 23) with varying degrees of expertise in the domain of engineering design took part in a 3-part mixed methods survey. The open-ended questions in the survey were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. A common theme among participants was a lack of trust towards the results of genetic algorithms, as well as the process which the algorithms take to reach a result. Based on this, the following recommendations are made: better communication between developers and engineers, and visualising algorithm behaviour.