CDT504 Chap.8 Product Architecture, Testing and IP
Product Architecture, Testing and IP
Map functions to chunks
Product architecture defines how functional elements map to physical chunks and how those chunks interact. Modular architectures create clearer mappings and interfaces that support isolated change, while integral architectures couple functions and can improve performance at the cost of difficult modification.
Slot, bus and sectional modularity suit different interface patterns and variety goals.
Test the uncertain claim
Concept testing defines a purpose, population, format, representation, response measure, interpretation and reflection. Prototype fidelity should match the learning question. Patent material can inform external search and constraints, but a course summary cannot establish legal freedom to operate.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Functional and physical elements
- 02
Modular and integral architecture
- 03
Slot, bus and sectional modularity
- 04
Architecture method
- 05
Concept testing
- 06
Prototype limits and IP
Worked example · free
Separate a replaceable battery
- 2Identify the coupled functions.
- 2Define the proposed interface.
- 2Name the new risk to test.
Key terms
- Functional Element
- An operation or transformation a product must perform.
- Physical Chunk
- A part, component or subassembly implementing one or more functions.
- Integral Architecture
- An architecture with coupled functions or interactions spread across chunks.
- Concept Test
- A structured study of customer response to a representation of a product concept.
- Prototype Fidelity
- The degree to which a representation reproduces the features relevant to a learning question.
Product Architecture, Testing and IP FAQ
Is modular architecture always better?
No. It supports local change and variety but introduces interfaces, space and coordination costs. Integral design can deliver higher performance when tight coupling is valuable.
What can a polished rendering test?
It can test communicated form, appeal or value but not durability, handling, manufacturing or service performance. Conclusions must remain inside the representation's fidelity and participant context.
How should patent information be used in concept work?
Use it to understand disclosed mechanisms and potential constraints, record the source and avoid copying a finished design. Legal freedom to operate requires advice beyond the lesson summary.
What is an incidental interaction?
It is a secondary relationship between chunks, such as heat, vibration, spatial conflict or blocked service access. These effects may not appear in the intended functional flow yet can control performance. Architecture review and coupled prototypes should make them visible before detail decisions harden.
How should a concept-test limitation be written?
Name what the representation, participant group and condition cannot establish. A rendering may support an appeal judgement but cannot prove durability; a form model may reveal handling but not production consistency. The limitation sets a boundary on the conclusion rather than weakening a useful test.
How does architecture affect team coordination?
Clear chunk interfaces allow more independent work, while integral interactions require close coordination because local changes affect several functions. Assign interface ownership and update it after architectural changes. The organisation of the team should reflect the technical coupling rather than assume every subsystem can optimise alone.
Assessment move
Draw one function-to-chunk map and redraw it with a more modular allocation. List the change benefit and each new interface risk. For three prototype types, state what each can and cannot prove. Review the seven concept-test steps and make the interpretation sentence explicitly acknowledge the population and representation limits. Start with a schematic of material, energy, information and user interactions.
Cluster elements into chunks, sketch a rough geometric layout and list both fundamental and incidental interactions. Fundamental flows make the product work; incidental effects such as heat, vibration, space conflict or service obstruction can still control performance. Compare the original mapping with a modular alternative.
Identify which future changes become local, including upgrades, add-ons, wear replacement, consumption, adaptation or reuse. Then state the interface cost in mass, volume, tolerance, sealing, coordination or performance. Choose among slot, bus and sectional modularity by examining whether interfaces should be unique, shared through a common connector or repeated between sections.
Do not select a label before describing the intended variety. Match prototype scope to the architecture risk. If uncertainty concerns a connector and enclosure seal, test those coupled chunks under realistic load rather than building unrelated interface screens. Write the purpose, population, representation, response measure, interpretation and limitation for every concept test.
A rendering can test communicated appeal but not physical durability; a form model can test handling but not production consistency. Update the architecture map after testing changes an interface and identify earlier results that no longer apply. Keep patent learning in the external-search record, distinguishing disclosed principles from permission to use them.
Finish with an interaction register that names source chunk, destination chunk, flow, expected range, failure consequence and planned verification. This makes the prototype plan auditable and links architectural reasoning to implementation.
