Benchmarking An Interdisciplinary Concurrent Design Methodology for Electronic/Mechanical Systems

The paper describes the evolution of an Interdisciplinary Concurrent Design Methodology (ICDM) and the metrics used to compare four generations of wearable computer artifacts produced by the methodology at each stage of ICDM's growth. The product cycle is defined, its phases, and the design information representation for each phase. Six generic axes of design activity are defined, and the concept of benchmarking a complete design methodology using these axes is introduced. In addition an approach for measuring design complexity is proposed. When applied to the four generations of the CMU wearable computers, the ICDM has demonstrated two orders of magnitude increase in design and efficiency.