Visual Function Mapping

Rebeca Béliard & Darrell KleinkeUniversity of Detroit Mercy

http://blog.mindjet.com/2012/05/between-minds-left-brain-vs-right-brain-thinkers/

The Problem Students, designers and engineers alike have

poor function-definition skills. Language barriers in today’s global

marketplace are a great incentive for better communication.

Engineers often rely on visual methods to relay information that is difficult to vocalize, we are not so creatively handicapped after all!

The Solution

BackgroundEngineering design textbooks emphasize the importance of the early stages of the design process. However, the critical discussion to decompose and analyze the functions of a

product is often lightly explored.

Where else does a young engineer learn to develop such a skill?

Background✱ TRIZ, one of the most robust and well-documented

problem-solving methods, which relies on many tools to match a desired solution to an already-solved problem.

✱ However, this may be a hindrance to creativity and idea innovation because the open-endedness of a solution fades with the assumption that the problem has already been solved.

✱ In addition, the many tools and steps within TRIZ can make the method obtuse and difficult to digest.

Background

Approach✱Minimize number of elementary

functions.✱Map to TRIZ and the NIST’s functional

basis proposal.✱Create pairs of functions, showing

forward and backward ‘flow’ for each pair.

The Icons

The Standard

ElementaryFunction

Energy

Material

Signal Energy

Material

Signal

How does a visual function map look like?

GETTING READY FOR WORK

What does it take to get myself ready for work?

1. Get dresseda. Select outfitb. Change from PJ to work attire

2. Brush my teetha. Put toothpaste & water on toothbrushb. Move toothbrush around teeth

3. Put makeup/perfume on4. Grab lunch and purse5. Walk out the door!

Activity Map

NSIT Functional Basis Text Map1. Get dressed

a. SIGNAL (sense what I want to wear, measure stylishness)b. BRANCH (Body from PJ)c. CONNECT (Body with work attire)

2. Brush my teetha. CHANNEL (import water and toothpaste to toothbrush)b. CHANNEL (rotate/translate toothbrush around my teeth)

3. Put makeup/perfume ona. IMPORT (beauty products to my face)b. PROVISION (‘store’ makeup and perfume to stay put all day)

4. Grab lunch and pursea. CONNECT (purse and lunch to me)

5. Walk out the door!a. CHANNEL (exporting myself out of my apartment and into my car)b. CHANNEL (transferring my car from home to work)

Example 1: Coffree

Designed by Young-an Seok, Young-woo Choi & Se-ryung Nam, Coffree is a product in which a flat, sealed pouch with instant coffee grounds

inside turns into a disposable coffee vessel when opened, eliminating the need for a separate instant

coffee package and stir stick.

Coffree Map

= Material flow = Signal flow = Energy flow

Conventional Instant Coffee Map

Example 2: Memory Seat Module

www.cadillac.com

Example 2: Memory Seat Module

Does it work? Pictogram Approach

✱ As an engineer, understanding the overall function of the product is key into finding effective and efficient solutions.

✱ The time spent communicating ideas across languages, and the time spent clarifying miscommunications could easily be decreased by relying more on a universal ‘language,’ such as pictures, numbers, and symbols, rather than spoken languages.

Why does this matter?

O Hirtz, J., Stone, R., McAdams, D., Szykman, S. and Wood, K., 2002, “A Functional Basis for Engineering Design: Reconciling and Evolving Previous Efforts,” Research in Engineering Design.

O Kasai, T., Kitamura, Y., and Mizoguchi, T., 2001, “Ontology-based Description of Functional Design Knowledge and its Use in a Functional Way Server.”

O Ookubo, M., Koji, Y., Sasajima, M., Kitamura, Y., Mizoguchi, R., 2007, “Towards Interoperability between Functional Taxonomies using an Ontollogy-based Mapping”, ICED 2007.

O Pahl, G., and Beitz, W., 1998, Engineering Design - a Systematic Approach. The Design Council.

References

Questions

http://www.presentermedia.com/help.html