Architectures for product families

This paper analyses the role of architectures in the development of product families. It is argued that modularity and integration are conflicting requirements that are best solved using product architectures. To describe a product family, three domains can be recognised: the functional domain, the technology domain and the physical domain. Each domain is characterised by both a hierarchical view (the product structure) and a non-hierarchical view (the product architecture). Especially, product architectures are important for developing product families. Using the domains, a definition for a product family is given. Deviations from the product family can be described with a special modelling language, named the generic product structuring concept