Product architecture is a mechanism for assigning product functionality to physical components. Instead of representing the product as a prototype, companies break it into essential components and represent them geometrically. It reveals redundancy and better represents the relationship between different functions. In particular, the role of product architecture, product platforms, and modularization are essential in shaping development and operations strategies and how these elements and chunks interact. It plays a crucial role in designing, manufacturing, selling, using, and repairing new products.
Product architecture is the process of chunking or organizing functional elements of a product. Product architecture is how lumps and elements interact. It performs an essential role in the plan, manufacture, sale, and repair of new products. It also connects systems and level design and is the principle of system engineering. Simply put, it is a strategy to map functions to shapes. The product architecture is mainly related to the functions associated with the R&D of a business. In particular, R&D is determined early in the process of innovation, which plays a leading role.
What Types of Product Architectures Are Available?
There are two standard sorts of product architectures:
- The first is modular: The modular product architecture focuses on the relationship between the various functions of the product. These features are briefly described, and how they interact is explained in detail.
- The second type is Integral: The integral architecture is the opposite, focusing on each function’s function, purpose, and internal structure and briefly explaining their relationship.
So which one to choose?
- Integral design is a great way to reduce product costs and improve overall product performance.
- On the other hand, the modular design helps to make products smoother and more sophisticated. On the other palm, the modular layout empowers companies to build a more regular and more advanced product. Moreover, because dependencies become apparent, the product team can create products with long product life, fewer errors, and more minor updates.
What Is the Role of Product Architecture in Product Development?
Product architecture influences most perspectives of product form and production. Prime in the product development method, the company, decides what roles and team activities its architecture will focus on. It is because it drives design and has a significant impact on cost.
How to Create Product Architecture?
There are four main steps in creating product architecture.
- To make a schematic diagram and a block diagram clearly expressing the function of a product. A schematic template is provided.
- Create groups from schematized elements and functions. This grouping varies by product type. Focus on the relationships between elements.
- These elements that represent the features and patterns of the product are laid out geometrically. It is how the architecture is structured.
- Connect different elements with rows. These lines express the cooperation between the components.
Benefits of Product Architecture
- It helps reduce costs and saves time.
- Increases the visibility of non-useful objects that must be replaced or deleted
- Process transparency to help identify similar functions
- Improved product performance
- Useful for product development of long life
- Modules requiring modification can be replaced without changing the entire product.
- Concurrent engineering is possible
- Customize the product to meet needs.
- Future upgrades are easy.
- Help develop more sustainable products.
Bottom Lines
Product architecture is the design of goods that confirms or shows the link between features and capacities of the product using lines and schematics. It is an essential tool in the product development process. The relationship between the module and the function is then drawn. The product team can replace modules that need to be modified without changing the entire product.