Product Architecture

Critical Architecture Decisions in the

System-Level Design Phase of PD
• Decomposition of the product into its
sub-systems and components
• Allocation of product functions to the
sub-systems and components
• Specification of modular variants of
sub-systems and components
• Assignment of design responsibility for
sub-systems and components
Product development team within Hewlett-Packard’s home printing division was
considering how to respond to the simultaneous pressures to increase product
variety and to reduce manufacturing cost.
In considering their (HP’s product development team) next steps, the team members
asked:

• How would the architecture of the product impact their ability to offer product variety?
• What would be the cost implications of different product architectures?
• How would the architecture of the product impact their ability to complete the design
within 12 months?
• How would the architecture of the product influence their ability to manage the
development process?

Product architecture is the assignment of the functional elements of a product to the

physical building blocks of the product.
The purpose of the product architecture is to define the basic physical building blocks of
the product in terms of what they do and what their interfaces are to the rest of the
device.
Architectural decisions allow the detailed design and testing of these building blocks to
be assigned to teams, individuals, and/or suppliers, such that development of
different portions of the product can be carried out simultaneously.
What is product architecture?
• A product can be thought of both in functional and physical terms.

• The functional elements of a product are the individual operations and

transformations that contribute to the overall performance of the product.
Example: In printer→ store paper, communicate with host computer.

• Functional elements are usually described in schematic form before they

are reduced to specific technologies, components, or physical working
principles.

• The physical elements of the product are the parts, components and the
subassemblies that ultimately implement the product functions.

• Some physical elements are dictated by the product concept, and other
become defined during the detailed design phase

• The physical elements of the product are typically organized into several
major physical building blocks, which may be called as chunks.

• Each chunk is made up of a collection of components that implement the

functions of product

• The architecture of a product is the scheme by which the functional

elements of the product are arranged into physical chunks and by which the
chunks interact.
-The most important characteristic of product’s architecture is its modularity.

-The design exhibits either modular architecture or an integral architecture.

-A modular architecture has the following two properties:

1. Chunks implement one or a few functional elements in their entirety.
2. Interactions between chunks are well defined and are generally
fundamental to the primary functions of the product.
The most modular architecture is one in which each functional element of
the product is implemented by exactly one physical chunk and in which
there are a few well- defined interactions between the chunks.
Such a modular structure allows a design change to be made to one chunk
without requiring a change to other chunks for the product to function
correctly. The chunks may also be designed quite independently of one
another.
 Trailer Example:
Modular Architecture
protect cargo
box
from weather

connect to
hitch
vehicle

minimize
fairing
air drag

support
bed
cargo loads

suspend
springs
trailer structure

transfer loads
wheels
to road
- The opposite of modular architecture is integral architecture.
- An integral architecture exhibits one or more of the following properties:
1. Functional elements of product are implemented using more than one
chunk.
2. A single chunk implements many functional elements.
3. The interactions between chunks are ill defined and may be incidental
to the primary functions of the products.
A product embodying an integral architecture will often be designed with the
highest possible performance in mind.
 Trailer Example:
Integral Architecture
protect cargo
upper half
from weather

connect to
lower half
vehicle

minimize
nose piece
air drag

cargo hanging support

straps cargo loads

spring slot suspend

covers trailer structure

transfer loads
wheels
to road
Types of modularity:
• Slot-modular architecture :
– Each of the interfaces between chunks is of different type from the others,
so that various chunks in the product cannot be interchanged.
• Bus-modular architecture :
– There is common bus to which the other chunks connect via the same type
of interface e. g. An expansion card for personal computer.
• Sectional-modular architecture :
– All interfaces are of same type, but there is no single element to which all
the other chunks attach e. g. Many piping systems.

Slot-Modular Architecture Bus-Modular Architecture Sectional-Modular Architecture

When is the product architecture defined?
• The products architecture happens informally- in the sketches, function
diagrams and early prototype of concept development phase.

• When the new product is an incremental improvement on an existing

product concept, then the product architecture is defined within the
product concept. This is for two reasons:
1. The basic technologies and working principles of product are
predefined, and so conceptual design effort are generally focused on
better ways to embody the given concept
2. As a product category matures, supply chain considerations and
issues of product variety begin to become more prominent.
• Product architecture most impacts a firm’s ability two efficiently deliver
high product variety.
• If the product is new and is the first of its kind, concept development is
generally concerned with the basic working principles and technology on
which the product will be based.
Implications of architecture:
Decision about how to divide the product into chunks and about how much
modularity to impose on the architecture are tightly linked to several issues
of importance to the entire enterprise:
• Product change
• Product variety
• Component standardization
• Product performance
• Manufacturability
• Product development management
Product change:
The architecture defines how the product can be changed. Modular chunks allow
changes to be made to a few isolated functional elements of the product without
necessarily affecting the design of other chunks.
Changing an integral chunk may influence many functional elements and require
changes to several related chunks
Some of the motives for product change are:
• Upgrade
• Add-ons
• Adaptation.
• Wear.
• Consumption.
• Flexibility in use.
• Reuse.

A modular architecture allows the firm to minimize the physical changes required to
achieve a functional change.
Product variety:
• Variety refers to the range of product models the firm can produce with in a
particular time period in response to market demand.
• Without adding tremendous complexity to the manufacturing system, the
product built around modular product architecture can be more easily varied
Ex: swatch produces hundreds of different watch models at relatively low cost
by assembling the variants from different combination of standard chunks

Coffee Maker Product Family

Basic Water Thermal Clock, Auto Adjustable Frothing

Model Filter Carafe Shut-off Heater Attachment

KF130 KF145 KF170 KF180 KF185 KF190

Automobile Platform Architecture
Component standardization:
• Component standardization is the use of same component or chunk in multiple
products.
• If a chunk implements only one or a few widely useful functional elements, then the
chunk can be standardized and used in several different products.
• Such standardization allows to manufacture the chunk in higher volumes than
would other wise be possible which may lead to lower cost and increased quality
• Component standardization may also occur outside the firm when several
manufacturers’ products all use a chunk or Component from the same supplier
Ex: The watch battery can be made by a supplier and standardized across several
manufacturers’ product lines
Product performance:
• Product performance is defined as how well a product implements its intended
functions.
• Typical product performance characteristics are: speed, efficiency, life, accuracy and
noise.
• An integral architecture facilitates the optimization of holistic performance
characteristics and those that are driven by the size, shape and the mass of the
product e. g. acceleration, energy consumption, aerodynamic drag, noise and
aesthetics.
• The practice of implementing multiple functions using a single physical element is
called function sharing.
• An integral architecture allows for redundancy to be eliminated through function
sharing and allows for geometric nesting of component of the product to minimize the
volume of the product.

BMW Motorcycle Frame

Manufacturability-
• The product architecture also directly affects the ability of the team to design each
chunk to be produced at low cost.
• One important design-for-manufacturing strategy involves the minimization of the
number of parts in a product through component integration.
• To maintain a given architecture, the integration of physical components can only be
easily considered within each of the chunks.
• Component integration across several chunks is difficult, if not impossible, and would
alter the architecture dramatically.
• The product architecture constraints subsequent detail design decisions in this way,
the team must consider the manufacturing implications of the architecture.
Product development management-
• Responsibility for the detail design of each chunk is usually assigned to
relatively small group within the firm or to an outside supply.
• In Modular architecture, the group assigned to design the chunk deals with
known and relatively limited functional interactions with other chunks.
• In some integral architectures, detail design will require close coordination
among different groups. This coordination is likely to be substantially more
involved and challenging than the limited coordination required among groups
designing different chunks in modular design.
• Modular and integral architecture demand different project management
styles.
– Modular approach requires very careful planning during system level
design phase.
– An integral architecture may require less planning and specification during
system-level design but requires substantially more integration, conflicts
resolution, and coordination during the detail design phase.
 Fundamental Decisions
• Integral vs. modular architecture?
• What type of modularity?
• How to assign functions to chunks?
• How to assign chunks to teams?
• Which chunks to outsource?
Establishing the architecture:
The product architecture should be established in a cross functional effort by
the development team. The result of this activity is an approximate
geometric layout of the product, description of the major chunks, and
documentation of the key interactions among the chunks
A four steps method to structure the decision process is
1. Create a schematic of the product.
2. Cluster the element of the schematic.
3. Create a rough geometric layout.
4. Identify the fundamental and incidental interactions.
Step 1:Create a schematic of the product.
• A schematic is a diagram representing the team’s understanding of the
constituent elements of the product.
• Some of the elements in the schematic are physical concepts. Some
correspond to critical components, and some remain described only
functionally.
• The schematic should reflect teams best understanding of the state of
the product, but it does not have to contain every imaginable detail.
• A good rule of thumb is to aim for fewer than 30 elements in the
schematic for the purpose of establishing the product architecture.
• The schematic created will not be unique. The specific choices in
creating a schematic, such as choice of functional elements and their
arrangements partly defines the product architecture.
• The team should generate several alternatives and select an approach
that will facilitate the consideration of several architectural options.
 DeskJet Printer Schematic
Enclose
Printer Print
Cartridge

Provide
Structural Accept
Support Position Display
Cartridge User
Inputs Status
In X-Axis

Position
Store
Paper
Output In Y-Axis Control
Printer
Store Supply
“Pick” DC
Blank
Paper Paper Power

Communicate
Command
with
Host Printer
Functional Flow of forces or energy
or Physical Flow of material
Elements Connect
Flow of signals or data to
Host
Step 2: Cluster the element of the schematic
• The challenge of step 2 is to assign each of the elements of the schematic
to a chunk.
• There are several viable alternatives. At one extreme each element could
be assigned to its own chunk, at the other extreme the product would have
only one major chunk and then attempt to physically integrate all of the
elements of the product.
• Consideration of all possible clustering of elements would yield thousands
of alternatives . One procedure for managing the complexity of the
alternatives is to begin with the assumption that each element of the
schematic will be assigned to its own chunk and then to successively cluster
elements wherever advantageous.
→To determine when there are advantages to clustering, we consider these
factors
• Geometric integration and precision.
• Function sharing.
• Capabilities of vendor
• Similarity of design or production technology.
• Localization of change
• Accommodating variety.
• Enabling standardization.
• Portability of the interfaces.
 Cluster Elements into Chunks
Enclosure
Enclose
Printer Print
Cartridge

Provide User Interface Board

Structural Accept
Support Position Display
Cartridge User
Inputs Status
Chassis In X-Axis

Position
Store
Paper
Output In Y-Axis Control Power Cord
Printer and “Brick”
Store Supply
“Pick” DC
Blank
Paper Paper Power

Paper Tray Print

Mechanism Communicate
Command
with
Host Printer
Host Driver
Functional Connect Software
or Physical Chunks to
Elements Host
Logic Board
Step3: Create a rough geometric layout.
• A geometric layout can be created in two or three dimensions using
drawing, computer models or physical models.
• Creating a geometric layout forces the team to consider whether the
geometric interfaces among the chunks are feasible and to work out the
basic dimensional relationship among the chunks.
• In some cases, the team may discover that the clustering derived in step 2
is not geometrically feasible and thus some of the elements would have to
be reassigned to other chunks.
Geometric Layout
Step4:Identify the fundamental and incidental interactions.
• Most likely a different person or group will be assigned to design each chunk. These
different groups will have to coordinate their activities and exchange information. The
team should identify the known interaction between chunks during the system-level
design phase.

• There are two categories of interaction between chunks:

1. Fundamental interaction- These are those corresponding to the lines on the
schematic that connect chunks to one another e. g. a sheet of paper flows from the
paper tray to the print mechanism.
Fundamental interactions are explicitly represented by the schematic showing
the clustering of elements into the chunks.
2. Incidental interactions-These are those that arise because of particular physical
implementation of functional elements or because geometric arrangement of chunks
e.g. vibration induced by the actuators in the paper tray can interfere the precise
location of print cartridge.
In the incidental interactions for small number of interacting chunks (fewer than
about 10), an interaction graph is convenient way to represent.

• The mapping of interactions between the chunks can be used to provide guidance for
structuring and managing remaining development activities.
Chunks with important interactions should be designed by groups with strong
communication and coordination.
Chunks with little interactions can be designed with less coordination.

• It is also possible to develop two interacting chunks in completely independent fashion

through careful advance coordination.
• Knowledge of incidental interactions develops as system-level and detail design
progresses.
 Incidental Interactions
User Interface
Enclosure Cartridge
Board

Styling Alignment

Thermal
Vibration Print Distortion Logic Host Driver
Paper Tray
Mechanism Board Software

RF
Thermal
RF Interference
Distortion
Shielding
Power Cord
Chassis
and “Brick”
 Modularity Enables Delayed Differentiation
Early Differentiation

A
A A

B
B B
assembly

C
C C
inventory of
transport
differentiation three models

Postponement

A
A

x B
B
partial transport inventory of
assembly one subassembly

C
C
delayed
differentiation
Delayed differentiation
• When a firm offers several variants of the product ,the product architecture is key determinant
of performance of the supply chain.
Supply Chain: The sequence of production and distribution activities that links raw materials
and components to finished products in the hands of customers.
• In scenario A ,the different version of products are defined during assembly, then transported
and finally packaged.
In scenario B, the assembly activity is divided in two stages, most of the product is assembled
in first stage, the product is then transported, assembly is completed and finally packaged.
• Postponing the differentiation of product until late in supply chain is called delayed
differentiation or simply postponement.
• It may offer substantial reductions in cost of operating the supply chain, primarily through
reduction in inventory requirements.
• As specially for innovative products, demand of each version of product is unpredictable. To
offer consistently high product availability, requires that inventory be held somewhere near
the end of the supply chain.
• Postponing enables substantial reductions in the cost of inventory because there is
substantially less randomness in demand for basic elements of the product than there is for
the differentiating components of variants of the products.
• Two design principles are necessary conditions for postponement:
1. The differentiating elements of the product must be concentrated in one or few chunks in
order to differentiate product through one or few simple process steps.
2. The product and production process must be designed so that the differentiating chunks can
be added to the product near the end of supply chain.
Platform planning-
Hewlett-Packard provides desk jet products to the customer with different needs.
These customers as belonging to three market segments: family, student and
small-office/home-office (SOHO).
A desirable property of the product architecture is that it enables a company to offer
two or more products that are highly differentiated yet share a substantial
fraction of their components.
The collection of assets, including component designs, shared by these products is
called product platform.
Planning the product platform involves managing a basic trade-off between
distinctiveness and commonality.
On the one hand, there are market benefits to offering several very distinctive
versions of a product.
On the other hand, there are design and manufacturing benefits to maximizing the
extent to which these different products share common components.
The two simple information systems allow the team to manage this trade off:
1. Differentiation plan
2. Commonality plan
Differentiating Family Student SOHO
Attributes

•Black print quality “near laser" quality “laser" quality 600 “laser" quality
300 dpi dpi 600 dpi
•Color print quality Near photo quality Equivalent to Equivalent to
DJ600 DJ600
•Print speed 6 pages /min 8 pages /min 10 pages /min
•Foot print 360x400 mm2 340x360 mm2 400x450 mm2
•Paper storage 100 sheets 100 sheets 150 sheets
•Style Consumer Youth consumer commercial
•Connectivity to USB and parallel USB USB
computer port

•Operating system Macintosh and Macintosh and Windows

compatibility Windows Windows

Differentiation plan
Chunks Number of Family Student SOHO
types
Print cartridge 2 “Manet” “Picasso” “Picasso”
cartidge cartidge cartidge

Print 2 “Aurora” series Narrow" Aurora” “Aurora”

mechanism series series

Paper tray 2 Front-in front- Front-in front- Tall Front-in

out out front-out

Logic board 2 “Next gen”board “Next “Next

with parallel gen”board gen”board
port
Enclosure 3 Home style youth style Soft office
style

Driver 5 Version A-PC Version B-PC Version C

software Version A-Mac Version B-Mac

Commonality plan
Managing the Trade-off Between
Differentiation and Commonality

The challenge in platform planning is to resolve the tension between the desire
to differentiate the products and the desire for these products to share
substantial fraction of their components.
There rare several guidelines for managing this tension.
• Platform planning decisions should be informed by quantitative response of
cost and revenue implications.
• Iteration is beneficial
• The product architecture dictates the nature of Trade-off between
differentiation and commonality
Related system level design issues
The four steps method for establishing the product architecture guides the early system level
design activities, but many more detailed activities remain.

Some of the issues that frequently arise during subsequent system level design activities and their
implications for product architecture are:
• Defining secondary systems:
A schematic of a product shows only the key elements of the product. There are many other
functional and physical elements not shown, some of which will only be conceived and detailed
as system level design evolves. These additional elements make up the secondary systems of
products. Examples include safety, power system, status monitors and structural supports.
• Establishing the architecture of chunks:
Some of the chunks of complex products may be very complex systems in their own right.
Careful consideration of architecture of the chunks is nearly as important as the creation of the
architecture of overall product
• Creating detailed interface specifications:
As the system level design progresses, the fundamental interactions indicated by line in the
schematic are specified as much more detailed collections of signals, material flows and
exchange of energy. As this refinement occurs, the specification of interfaces between chunks
should also be clarified.