[one_half]At Ratio we offer solutions for modeling and structuring function and design requirement information. At the heart of these solutions stands a computer-readable specification language, which enables users to write highly structured multi-level requirement documents and to automatically derive dependencies between components, (function and design) requirements, variables, and combinations thereof. We can visualize these dependencies in interactive multi-disciplinary dependency structure matrices (DSM) as shown below. A DSM is an N ⋅ N matrix showing the dependencies between N elements. The figure below shows the dependencies between components of a lock system. The various colors indicate the different types of dependencies such as mechanical energy and electrical energy.
[/one_half]Additionally, we provide methods to find structure within the network of dependencies. In the figure below the rows and columns of the DSM have been swapped to reveal a ‘bus’ or ‘integrative’ module of components, i.e., the group of components in the top left corner of the DSM, and modules of components with relatively few dependencies with rest of the system. This provides information on how to best modularize a system. We provide similar analysis tools to for example identify critical components with respect to Key-Performance-Indicators. Furthermore, by clicking on dependencies or components within the matrix one can quickly retrieve all related information. This makes the DSM a very compact representation of (usually very long) specification documents. Learn more about the Ratio products in the user and reference manuals. Interested? Please contact us for more information.
