Group Design and Management - Essay Example

According to Suh, (1995), Axiomatic design provides the designer with a theoretical foundation based on processes which are logical and rational thought. Axiomatic design can also be used to create Functional Requirements (FRs) and Design Parameters (DPs). The creation of these two ensures that all necessary elements of design are incorporated thereby making it possible to narrow down to possible solutions. The other elements of axiomatic design inline with these are the customer attributes (CAs) and Process Variables (PVs).

According to Cochran, et al. (2000, p. 12), the customer domain is characterized by the customer attributes that the customer is looking for in a process, product, system or any other object to be designed. Cochran et al continue to clarify that customer attributes are specified in terms of functional requirements and constraints in the functional domain. Therefore, functional requirements represent the real goals and objectives of the design. Expression of how one need to satisfy the functional requirements is done by design parameters.

Then lastly, systems variables are stated in the process domain incase in order to arrive at a design solution specified by design parameters (p. 13). . 13). Application of axioms calls for breaking them down in a structure that is hierarchical. This therefore means that in order to engineer a design, there are three essential elements. These elements according to Suh (2001) are: the axioms, the structure, and the process of creating that structure. Suh (1990) suggests that the axioms are decomposed into rules upon which design is governed.

Structures are decomposed vertically into design hierarchies and laterally into design domains (Suh, 1990, 2001). Suh (2001), states that the processes comprise of decompositions by zigzagging between the domains of designs downwards to the leaf levels or nitty-gritty. This simple means that it ends up with the most detailed fundamental level of the hierarchy of design, and the physical integration and composition of the final design. The playing field of design is understood to be the lateral decomposition while the rules of design are the corollaries, axioms, and theorems.

The process domain and the customer domain represent the domains as a whole. The relationships between Design Parameters (DPs) and Functional Requirements (FRs) in physical and functional domains are emphasized by design exercises and the process domains. The process domain is used to check the existence of manufacturing processes and process variables that are reasonable. This is of great use in concurrent engineering. Tool design and manufacturing processes are recast as product design problems aligned with the right customer DPs and FRs.

A good design calls for proper definition of FRs. It is not possible for the final design to be better than FRs. In addressing problems, there is usually a tendency by engineers to