Abstract
The significance of activities performed during the initial design process stages suggests the need for supporting computer applications. Currently, such support is not available until the detailed design stage is reached. Although several models addressing activities occurring prior to this stage appear in the literature, these models are limited in their ability to be scaled up to real-world problems, integrated with existing tools, and/or provide guidance to participants. A window-based application for the conceptual design stage that effectively addresses these limitations is presented in this paper. Our approach is unique in that it combines existing methodologies for function and system decomposition in a way not previously considered, as well as facilitating the use of a design guidance mechanism. An example demonstrating the use of the resulting tool to a conceptual design problem is provided.
