DESA : a design method that reduces system complexity

• Main Author: Lim, Yee Soon
• Other Authors: Martin Erik Gustav Helander
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Systems engineering
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/41748
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This research deals with a fonnal design method called "Design Equations for Systems Analysis", or DESA. This method reduces system complexity, and has been demonstrated to effectively reduce the complexity of human-machine systems. It also increases the usability of products. The author summarized two other design methods that reduce system complexity - Axiomatic Design (AD) and Design Structure Matrix (DSM) - and explained their differences from DESA. A case study was then presented to demonstrate the ability ofAD and DSM to complement each other. Since DESA builds on AD, it can complement DSM similarly. The author revised the framework that DESA utilizes. A tenninology was established to define the technical tenns in DESA. DESA was then employed to design an inspection method that evaluates usability. It was also employed to reduce the complexity of an objectoriented software system. These two applications of DESA are presented as case studies. These two case studies respectively demonstrate that DESA designs for usability and effectively reduces the complexity of object-oriented software systems.