On relating functional modeling approaches: abstracting functional models from behavioral models

This paper presents a survey of functional modeling approaches and describes a strategy to establish functional knowledge exchange between them. This survey is focused on a comparison of function meanings and representations. It is argued that functions represented as input-output flow transformations correspond to behaviors in the approaches that characterize functions as intended behaviors. Based on this result a strategy is presented to relate the different meanings of function between the approaches, establishing functional knowledge exchange between them. It is shown that this strategy is able to preserve more functional information than the functional knowledge exchange methodology of Kitamura, Mizoguchi, and co-workers. The strategy proposed here consists of two steps. In step one, operation-on-flow functions are translated into behaviors. In step two, intended behavior functions are derived from behaviors. The two-step strategy and its benefits are demonstrated by relating functional models of a power screwdriver between methodologies.This paper presents a survey of functional modeling approaches and describes a strategy to establish functional knowledge exchange between them. This survey is focused on a comparison of function meanings and representations. It is argued that functions represented as input-output flow transformations correspond to behaviors in the approaches that characterize functions as intended behaviors. Based on this result a strategy is presented to relate the different meanings of function between the approaches, establishing functional knowledge exchange between them. It is shown that this strategy is able to preserve more functional information than the functional knowledge exchange methodology of Kitamura, Mizoguchi, and co-workers. The strategy proposed here consists of two steps. In step one, operation-on-flow functions are translated into behaviors. In step two, intended behavior functions are derived from behaviors. The two-step strategy and its benefits are demonstrated by relating functional models of a power screwdriver between methodologies.P