Conflicts classification and solving for collaborative feature modeling

Based on the analysis of feature modeling activities in a collaborative environment, a definition and a classification of concurrency conflicts have been presented. A feature adjustment method is proposed to solve the conflicts, an enhanced naming mechanism for the collaborative feature modeling to preserve the design intentions, and a process for the non-locked multi-client collaborative design. The algorithms have been implemented in a prototype system integrating C++, Java3D and VRML, and CORBA technologies. Flexibility and efficiency in collaborative feature modeling environment have been achieved in our system.