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

KTH Royal Institute of Technology The KTH Royal Institute of Technology ( sv, Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, lit=Royal Institute of Technology), abbreviated KTH, is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden. KTH conducts research and education in engineering and technol ...

in the 1990s. As a result of said research, the compan
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 ( , ; stylized as LEGO) is a line of plastic construction toys that are manufactured by The Lego Group, a privately held company based in Billund, Denmark. The company's flagship product, Lego, consists of variously colored interlockin ...

, 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 In marketing, manufacturing, call centre operations, and management, mass customization makes use of flexible computer-aided systems to produce custom output. Such systems combine the low unit costs of mass production processes with the flexibilit ...

, 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. Thesi

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/Luxembour

External links

Modular Function Deployment
Modularity, Function deployment Product development Systems engineering