Current design rationale(DR) systems have not demonstrated the value of the approach in practice since little attention is put to the evaluation method of DR knowledge. To systematize knowledge management process for future computer-aided DR applications, a prerequisite is to provide the measure for the DR knowledge. In this paper, a new knowledge network evaluation method for DR management is presented. The method characterizes the DR knowledge value from four perspectives, namely, the design rationale structure scale, association knowledge and reasoning ability, degree of design justification support and degree of knowledge representation conciseness. The DR knowledge comprehensive value is also measured by the proposed method. To validate the proposed method, different style of DR knowledge network and the performance of the proposed measure are discussed. The evaluation method has been applied in two realistic design cases and compared with the structural measures. The research proposes the DR knowledge evaluation method which can provide object metric and selection basis for the DR knowledge reuse during the product design process. In addition, the method is proved to be more effective guidance and support for the application and management of DR knowledge.
