HPD Introduction

HPD Stands for:

  • Holistic Probabilistic Design (for Design or Structural Engineering), or
  • Holistic Probabilistic Decision-Making (for all Other Application Areas – e.g., Business, Material or other Sciences, . . .)

HPD Consists of a Work Process Methodology with Software Suites

  • HPD Methodology (to be part of forthcoming books) guides:
    • How to Structure any (“simple” or complex) Stochastic problem and “Model” (i.e., establish relationship(s)) for it
    • How to Stochastically Analyze & Optimize/Synthesize, locally & globally
  • HPD Software Suites:
    • HPD_VA for (the Umbrella area** of) Variability Analysis**
    • HPD_Opt for Stochastic/Design Optimization
    • Others (see GUI)

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HPD’s Important Inclusiveness:

  • On Modeling & Models:
    • “Modeling” includes conducting experiments; “Model” includes datasets, subprograms, and more
    • A “Total Model” is a “Flow of Models” that addresses all parameters whose Variability one needs to address
    • The Software can handle any “Model” / “Total Model
  • On Probability Distribution “Types:”
    Since a resulting distribution can be any point in the infinite-dimensional distribution-space and it can be used as an input distribution for the next level computation, HPD has liberated the concept of distribution Types; known Types are just discrete points in the continuum!!

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** We use “Variability Analysis” (VA) instead of “Uncertainty Quantification” (UQ) or “Risk/Reliability Analysis” – terms seen in literature – because the “Umbrella area” of VA includes those and much more. E.g., Umbrella Area includes tolerancing, computing distributions (by our Breakthrough way + several lesser ways), Sensitivity/Contribution Analysis, failure rates, . . .