Design for Conceptual Designability

from the Perspective of Competitive Advantage

by
Edwin B. Dean

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[NASA Logo] A system is conceptually designable if the product can be defined. To define a product requires a language which will permit the complete definition of the product and processes which implement the definition through the language. A conceptual design contains product functionality (what it will do) and architectures (what will do it and how that is organized). The value of an architecture is the degree to which it will perform the product functionality. The effectiveness and efficiency by which the value of various architectures can be determined is a measure of the system to conceptually design the product, and hence is a measure of the conceptual designability of the product.

To be competitive in the current world market, one must simultaneously design the product and the system to bringforth, sustain, and retire the product. Since much of the cost is determined during conceptual design, the same capability is necessary for the conceptual design. The value of the architecture of the system to bring forth, sustain, and retire the product is the degree to which it will perform those functions in a valuable, cost effective, and timely manner. The effectiveness and efficiency by which the value of various architectures of the system to bring forth, sustain, and retire the product can be determined is a measure of the system to conceptually design the system to bring forth, sustain, and retire the product, and hence is a measure of the conceptual designability of the system to bring forth, sustain, and retire the product.

Both measures combine to define the conceptual designability of the system.

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Design for Value | Design for Quality | Design for ... | Use

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Originated on 940726 | Improved on 961202
Author Ed Dean | Curator Al Motley