Identifying Product Family Architecture Modularity Using Function and Variety Heuristics

This paper proposes a method for identifying product architecture alternatives for a family of products based upon customer needs and product function. Customer needs and uses are interpreted according to the variation in performance target values across the market and within the set of individual customer uses. Product uses are represented by function structures consisting of the functions necessary for achieving the use. These individual product use function structures are unioned into a family function structure to represent the entire product family. This family function structure is then partitioned according to function and product variety heuristics into function clusters that anticipate product modules. This candidate modularity can then be used to deliver product variety across the product portfolio given functional constraints. A family of xerographic products is used as the working example.

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