Modular function deployment explained

Modular Function Deployment (MFD) is a method for creating modular product architectures, based on research performed at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in the 1990s.^[1] As a result of said research, the company Modular Management was registered in 1996, offering consultancy services centered on the MFD method.^[2]

With a modular product architecture, companies can offer a wide range of products and services without increasing complexity, since modules and module variants, like blocks of LEGO, can be configured in many different ways. The MFD method ensures that each module has functional, strategic and customer-centric value and can be combined with other modules through standardized interfaces.^{[3] [4]} A modular product architecture can enable mass customization, where customers configure and order personalized - rather than ready-made - products and services.^[5]

Five Steps

MFD consists of five steps and is often illustrated as a circle to emphasize that it is an iterative process.

1. Clarify Customer Needs
2. Identify Functions and Solutions
3. Propose Modules and Interfaces
4. Define Variants and Configurations
5. Confirm Architecture Feasibility

References

• Gunnar Erixon: "Modular Function Deployment – A Method for Product Modularisation", Ph.D. Thesis http://swepub.kb.se/bib/swepub:oai:DiVA.org:kth-2619?tab2=abs&language=en, The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, 1998. TRITA-MSM R-98-1, ISSN 1104-2141, ISRN KTH/MSM/R-98/1-SE.
• Application of the Modular Function Deployment Tool on a pressure regulator, Gilles Clemen / Rotarex Automotive S.A., Lintgen/Luxembourg http://team.fh-kl.de/fileadmin/team/albert-meij/pdf/Zusammenfassung_Gilles_Clemen.pdf

External links

• Modular Function Deployment

Notes and References

1. Gunnar Erixon: "Modular Function Deployment – A Method for Product Modularisation", Ph.D. Thesis http://swepub.kb.se/bib/swepub:oai:DiVA.org:kth-2619?tab2=abs&language=en, The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, 1998. TRITA-MSM R-98-1, ISSN 1104-2141, ISRN KTH/MSM/R-98/1-SE.
2. Web site: About - Modular Management. 2021-02-16. www.modularmanagement.com. en.
3. Book: Ericsson. Anna. Controlling Design Variants: Modular Product Platforms. Erixon. Gunnar. 1999. Society of Manufacturing Engineers. 978-0-87263-514-2. en.
4. Book: Lehtonen, Timo. Designing Modular Product Architecture in the New Product Development. Tampere University of Technology. 2007. 978-952-15-1924-6. Tampere.
5. Mikkola. J. H.. February 2007. Management of Product Architecture Modularity for Mass Customization: Modeling and Theoretical Considerations. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. 54. 1. 57–69. 10.1109/TEM.2006.889067. 33577589. 1558-0040.