Design language

Abstract: In engineering design, all products and artifacts have some intended reason behind their existence: the product or artifact function. Functional modeling provides an abstract, yet direct, method for understanding and representing an overall product or artifact function. Functional modeling also strategically guides design activities such as problem decomposition, physical modeling, product architecting, concept generation, and team organization. A formal function representation is needed to support functional modeling, and a standardized set of function-related terminology leads to repeatable and meaningful results from such a representation. We refer to this representation as a functional basis; in this paper, we seek to reconcile and integrate two independent research efforts into a significantly evolved functional basis. These efforts include research from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and two US universities, and their industrial partners. The overall approach for integrating the functional representations and the final results are presented. This approach also provides a mechanism for evaluating whether future revisions are needed to the functional basis and, if so, how to proceed. The integration process is discussed relative to differences, similarities, insights into the representations, and product validation. Based on the results, a more versatile and comprehensive design vocabulary emerges. This vocabulary will greatly enhance and expand the frontiers of research in design repositories, product architecture, design synthesis, and general product modeling.

Abstract: Functional models represent a form independent blueprint of a product. As with any blueprint or schematic, a consistent language or coding system is required to ensure others can read it. This paper introduces such a design language, called a functional basis, where product function is characterized in a verb-object (function-flow) format. The set of functions and flows is intended to comprehensively describe the mechanical design space, Clear definitions are provided for each function and flow. The functional basis is compared to previous functional representations and is shown to subsume these attempts as well as offer a more consistent classification scheme. Applications to the areas of product architecture development, function structure generation, and design information archival and transmittal are discussed.

Abstract: The study of Information Systems (IS) design is an essential part of the education of IS students and professionals. The purpose of this book is to provide a thorough reference on Design Science Research (DSR), and it comes from two authors closely identified with DSR Alan Hevner and Samir Chatterjee. As founders of the Design Science Research in Information Systems and Technology (DESRIST) annual conference, and as leading educators and researchers in the field, these authors, along with several invited contributors , are uniquely qualified to create this easy-to-read, easy-to-understand, and easy-to-apply text/reference. Suitable for graduate courses in IS, computer science, software engineering, engineering design and other design-oriented fields, it can be used as a core text or a reference for doctoral seminars in DSR. IS faculty and researchers will find much of value here as well. It requires no extensive background in design and can be appreciated by practitioners working in IS or technology design. Its 18 chapters are all individually referenced, and two appendices provide a reprint of the seminal 2004 MISQ paper by Hevner, March, Park, and Ram, as well as a list of exemplar papers in Design Science. The book provides a thorough introduction to DSR, a look at DSR in IS, examinations of DSR frameworks and design theory, and a look at the key principles of DSR in IS. Other chapters look at design for software-intensive systems, people and design, the past and present of software designs, evaluation methods, focus-group use, design creativity, and a design language for knowledge management systems. Later chapters explore integrating action research with design research, design science in management disciplines, a critical realist perspective of DSR in IS, a taxonomic look at design of emerging digital services, the dissemination of DSR, and, finally, a look at the future for DSR in IS.

Abstract: 1. A Software Design Manifesto. 2. Design of the Conceptual Model. 3. The Role of the Artist-Designer. 4. Design Language. 5. The Consumer Spectrum. 6. Action-Centered Design. 7. Keeping It Simple. 8. The Designer's Stance. 9. Reflective Conversation with Materials. 10. Cultures of Prototyping. 11. Footholds for Design. 12. Design as Practiced. 13. Organizations for User-Centered Design. 14. Design for People at Work. Reflection. Bibliography. Index.

Abstract: In November 2004, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) released the aerospace standard AS5506, named the Architecture Analysis & Design Language (AADL). The AADL is a modeling language that supports early and repeated analyses of a system's architecture with respect to performance-critical properties through an extendable notation, a tool framework, and precisely defined semantics. The language employs formal modeling concepts for the description and analysis of application system architectures in terms of distinct components and their interactions. It includes abstractions of software, computational hardware, and system components for (a) specifying and analyzing real-time embedded and high dependability systems, complex systems of systems, and specialized performance capability systems and (b) mapping of software onto computational hardware elements. The AADL is especially effective for model-based analysis and specification of complex real-time embedded systems. This technical note is an introduction to the concepts, language structure, and application of the AADL.