Models and methods for standardization problems

When designing an information system, the so-called “Standardization Problem” (SP) arises. The (basic) problem can be described by means of a graph with n nodes and e edges. The nodes represent system elements which have to share information with other nodes. For each system element i, it is possible to introduce a (new) standard, causing fixed costs. In turn, information exchange becomes more efficient if sender i and receiver j introduce the (same) standard, which results in lower exchange costs. The task is to decide for any combination of a system element i and a standard k if k should be introduced in i, so that the sum of setup and exchange costs is minimized. Models and (exact) solution methods are presented for the basic SP as well as for a generalization. Complexity issues are also discussed.