Identifying Modular and Integrative Systems and Their Impact on Design Team Interactions

TLDR

Complex product development typically decomposes products into systems and then into components. The study introduces a new notion of system modularity based on how components share design interfaces across systems. Modular systems cluster design interfaces among physically adjacent systems, whereas integrative systems distribute interfaces across many systems, and the authors use this framework to examine how modularity affects design team interactions. The framework is illustrated by analyzing the development of an aircraft engine.

Abstract

The typical approach to developing complex products is to decompose the product into systems, and these into components. We introduce a new notion of system modularity based upon the way components share design interfaces across systems. Modular systems are those whose design interfaces with other systems are clustered among physically adjacent systems, whereas integrative systems are those whose interfaces are physically distributed or functionally integrative across all or most other systems. Our research method allows us to study how system modularity impacts design team interactions. Our approach is illustrated by analyzing the development of an aircraft engine.