Modularity in design of products and systems

The term modularity is used to describe the use of common units to create product variants. One of the most common motivators for promoting modularity is a large variety of products that can be constructed from a small set of modules and components. The goal of this paper is to review the literature on modular design and develop models and solution approaches for solving the modularity problem for mixed process products (e.g., electro-mechanical products). To interpret various types of modularity, e.g., component-swapping, component-sharing, and bus modularity, the modularity problem is represented with a matrix. The decomposition approach is used to determine modules to be shared by different products. The representation and solution approaches presented are illustrated with numerous examples. The main contribution of this paper is in the development of a formal approach to define modules and represent modularity. Research issues related to the development of modular products are also presented.