Design for value DfV Dan A. Seni, P. Eng., Ph.D. School of Management Université du Québec à Montréal Canada seni.dan@uqam.ca Publication: Dan A. Seni, (2005). Function Models : A General Framework for Technological Design, Value World, Journal of the International Society of American Value Engineers,Volume 28, No.2, pp.8-11. SAVE Paper of the Year in Value Engineering, 2005.
A broad definition of design Design is invention, a form of problem-solving which is simply reducible to value-improvement. It is particular to human beings and arises from the ability to represent or model things in ideas and concepts and thus to anticipate and shape them.
The design process and the modeling relation Models of things Model of old thing Invention Model of new thing Things Old thing Innovation New thing
The innovation pipeline: design is the link between discovery and innovation Discovery Invention of things Innovation Science (knowledge of things) Technology (knowledge and design of new things) Industry & market (making, producing and exchanging valuable things)
We are able to discover, invent and design things only if we can represent them. In doing so we construct models. Thus the key concept in science and technology is the semantical or modeling relation ; the relation between things and their representation in ideas and models. What is this relation?
Levels of real and levels of abstraction in representation and models
Level of abstraction The modeling relation in classical design Implicit model from tacit knowledge Problem-solve - invent model Ideas Things as-is Problem-solve - innovate (test-prototype-implement) asoughtto-be Time
The intellectual contribution of VE/VA: A function-based and value-based approach to design vs. the standard, classical or performance approach to design Classical engineering or expert (technocratic) design The designer is a lone individual, expert or craftsman. Thing approach. Focus is on thingmodels according to methods, disciplines or states of the art. What is the thing? Seeks to find best possible thingmodel within the constraints of the problem. Focuses on constrained optimality of operational performance. Value-based design The designer is a team engaged in collective design rather than single expert design (collaboration vs. cooperation). Systems approach. Focus is on systems-models. What is the system-in-its-environment? How do they work? Elevates or abstracts systems model to function-based model. Seeks to find the thing-model that best performs the wanted functions. Focuses on function value and economic value.
Function modeling Function analysis and function modeling is a general and broad systems approach to modeling. When used in design, it allows for the integration of resource and cost criteria (economic value) with the performance criteria (technical value) of a system so as to explicitly account for value improvement
The modeling relation in ( creative ) team-based VA/VE design Level of abstraction Function model Implicit model from tacit knowledge Problem-solve - invent model Ideas Things as-is Problem-solve - innovate (test-prototype-implement) asoughtto-be Time
A full-fledged modeling approach: The Design for Value framework Level of abstraction Function Problem-solve - evaluate Function model 1 Explicit systemenvironment model Explicit value model Problem-solve - invent model 2 model Ideas Things as-is Problem-solve - innovate (test-prototype-implement) or create value asoughtto-be Time
Present flaws in VE/VA design methodology and improvement by design for value Present flaws in VE/VA design No explicit as-is object-system modeling. No explicit system-environment modeling. Therefore no measure of creativeness of solutions. No explicit as-is function modeling. So we don t agree about what we are improving. No explicit and consistent value modeling. Therefore no explicit value metrics. The 5 or 7-step method Needed improvement in VE/VA design Model explicitly the object to be improved as a system-environment complex so as to eliminate ambiguity. Develop a consistent and explicit logic (theory) of functions so as to relate object-systems to functions and thus to be able to compare and assess function models. Develop explicit value model so as to be able to evaluate improvement. A full-fledged scientific modeling approach proposes real creativity.