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ANALYSIS OF FUNCTIONAL REFERENCE ARCHITECTURE THROUGH AN INDUSTRY LENS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2021

Ivan Mervyn Mactaggart ,
Claudia Eckert  and
Helen Lockett
Ivan Mervyn Mactaggart*
Affiliation:
The Open University
Claudia Eckert
Affiliation:
The Open University
Helen Lockett
Affiliation:
The Open University
*
Mactaggart, Ivan Mervyn, The Open University, Engineering & Innovation, United Kingdom, [email protected]

Abstract

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There is an inherent tension between functional descriptions of products and structural descriptions. Traditionally system architecture combine the two, by mapping system elements to functions. In this process fundamental decisions about the embodiment of a product are often taken without proper scrutiny. Axiomatic design advocates a zigzag between functional decomposition and system break down. While this approach makes sense for ab initio design these are rare and most products are developed incrementally., This paper takes up the idea of a functional reference architecture.

Conventional functional modelling advocates a hierarchical decomposition into sub function. By contrast FRAs decompose function into function chain, i.e., dependent sequences of sub function required to carry out an overall function. This allows the identification of common sub-functions in different chains, and thereby generates a lattice structure of functions rather than a tree. This enables a detailed but solution neutral description of the product.

This concept has attracted interest in industry but does not have many tools and methods to develop FRA. The paper discusses some of the areas that require research

Keywords

Design methodologySystems Engineering (SE)Functional modellingComplexityArchitecture
Type
Article
Information
Proceedings of the Design Society , Volume 1: ICED21 , August 2021 , pp. 467 - 476
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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