Modular Function Deployment (MFD) is a method for creating modular product architectures, based on research performed at

KTH Royal Institute of Technology KTH Royal Institute of Technology (), abbreviated KTH, is a Public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH conducts research and education in Institute of technology, engineering and technology and is Sweden's largest te ...

in the 1990s. As a result of said research, the company Modular Management was registered in 1996, offering consultancy services centered on the MFD method. 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 Lego (, ; ; stylised as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. Lego consists of variously coloured interlocking plastic bricks made of acrylonitri ...

, 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. A modular product architecture can enable

mass customization Mass customization makes use of flexible computer-aided systems to produce custom products. Such systems combine the low unit costs of mass production processes with the flexibility of individual customization. Mass customization is the new fro ...

, where customers configure and order personalized—rather than ready-made—products and services.

Five Steps

MFD consists of five steps and is often illustrated as a circle to emphasize that it is an iterative process. #Clarify Customer Needs #Identify Functions and Solutions #Propose Modules and Interfaces #Define Variants and Configurations #Confirm Architecture Feasibility

References

{{Reflist * Gunnar Erixon: "Modular Function Deployment – A Method for Product Modularisation", Ph.D. Thesis. 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

External links

Modular Function Deployment
Function deployment Product development Systems engineering