Abstract
In response to evolving societal and technical demands, this research explores the dynamic landscape of product evolution, focusing on the case study of braking systems. Acknowledging the critical role of product evolution analysis in design phases, the study introduces the Environment-Based Design (EBD) methodology. EBD emphasizes environmental analysis before delving into product specifics, employing tools like Recursive Object Model (ROM) diagrams and questioning-and-answering analyses. The paper systematically unfolds with a literature review highlighting various design methodologies, followed by the EBD application in a braking system evolution analysis. Trends in environment components are dissected, emphasizing the increasing influence of the human environment. The discussion underlines the significance of analyzing environment components in product evolution and asserts EBD’s applicability. Despite limitations, such as the exclusive focus on braking systems, the study contributes to understanding product evolution dynamics and advocates for the continued exploration of EBD across diverse products and cultural contexts.
Introduction
To meet emerging societal and technical demands, products need to evolve and adapt accordingly. Analyzing a product’s evolution provides insights into underlying trends and mechanisms, facilitating the ability to forecast and redesign products in alignment with future environmental requirements. The analysis of product evolution and design requirements is pivotal in every stage of product development, especially in conceptual, preliminary, and detailed design phases. Employing trend analysis at these stages empowers designers, with its greatest impact seen in early design phases. Therefore, conducting effective and efficient analysis of product evolutions becomes a crucial value driver for manufacturers when making strategic decisions (Petrick & Echols 2004; Wood & Otto 1998). Over the past two centuries, braking systems have significantly evolved in response to technological advancements and emerging requirements. To gain deeper insights into these advancements, this paper conducts a detailed environmental analysis of braking system evolution.
This paper aims to demonstrate how product evolutions can be analyzed using the Environment-Based Design (EBD) methodology, using braking systems as a case study. EBD is a design methodology that prioritizes analyzing the environment before delving into the product itself (Zeng 2011, 2020). It classifies environments into three types: natural, built, and human, systematically guiding both novice designers and experts in seeking, acquiring, and applying knowledge (Yang et al., 2022, 2023). EBD utilizes tools like the Recursive Object Model (ROM) diagram (Zeng, 2008) and questioning-and-answering analyses (Wang & Zeng, 2009) to extract components of the design environment and systematically conducts trend analysis on these components.
The remain of the paper is organized as follows: Section 2 introduces existing methods for product evolution analysis, Section 3 introduces how EBD can be employed to model product evolution. Section 4 presents an analysis of the evolution of braking systems, Section 5 discusses the reason for using the EBD methodology in this analysis. Finally, Section 6 concludes the paper.
Literature review
Design methodologies aim to address the intricate and iterative nature of the design process, often described as the zig-zag process (Suh, 1990), which is considered an ill-defined or wicked problem (Simon, 1973). Design is a dynamic, recursive, and open-ended process with problems, solutions, and knowledge co-evolving (Dorst & Cross, 2001; Maher et al., 1996; Yang et al., 2022; Zeng, 1991). The co-evolution model illustrates how design information can trigger design processes (Cash & Milene, 2017; Crilly, 2021). An effective design methodology should encompass driving forces, directions, required resources, and mechanisms to analyze product evolutions.
Alternatively, product evolution can be seen as a collaborative design process involving multiple stakeholders, where a design methodology offers insights into the product’s evolution concerning diverse business, technological, and social circumstances. It enables a systematic approach to accomplish design tasks and translate customer requirements into viable product solutions.
Table 1 provides an overview of design methodology-driven and data-driven methods utilized in product evolution analysis. The data-driven approach relies on market dynamics, business factors, and technological advancements, without explicitly considering the underlying physical principles driving the evolution. Conversely, the design methodology-driven approach relies on established methodologies. Altshuller proposed the TRIZ method, studying the evolution of technical systems and patents based on the law of ideation and contradiction (1984). TRIZ tools analyze evolutionary potentials and innovation roadmaps (Cascini, 2012; Cerit et al., 2014; Dong et al., 2019; Fey & Rivin, 1996). TRIZ assists designers and businesses in forecasting system futures by identifying their ideal level and potential (Barragan-Ferrer et al., 2019; Mann, 2003; Yang & Chen, 2012). Axiomatic design (Suh, 1990) is another methodology used in product evolution analysis (Tay & Gu, 2003), applied to design the next generation of a product through information recovery, management, and reuse. The combination of TRIZ and axiomatic design has been proposed for product design and forecasting (Borgianni & Matt, 2016; Wu et al., 2020).
Methods for analyzing product evolutions
Methods for analyzing product evolutions
A systematic approach proposed by Pahl and Beitz (Pahl & Beitz, 1984) has been employed to analyze the evolution of institutions (Epstein, 2020). Goel and his collaborators introduced the structure, behaviour, and function (SBF) model (Cascini et al., 2022; Goel & Chandrasekaran, 1988; Goel et al., 2009; Guo et al., 2022), which has been applied to the analysis of biological evolutions. Similarly, the situated FBS model proposed by Gero and Kannengiesser (Becattini et al., 2020; Crilly, 2021; Gero & Kannengiesser, 2004) has found applications in the analysis of engineering changes (Koh, 2017), technology forecasting (Dong & Sarkar, 2015), and social media (Emami et al., 2020).
A systematic approach by Pahl and Beitz (1984) analyzes the evolution of institutions (Epstein, 2020). Goel and collaborators introduced the structure, behavior, and function (SBF) model applied to biological evolutions (Cascini et al., 2022; Goel & Chandrasekaran, 1988; Goel et al., 2009; Guo et al., 2022). The situated FBS model by Gero and Kannengiesser (Becattini et al., 2020; Crilly, 2021; Gero & Kannengiesser, 2004) finds applications in engineering changes (Koh, 2017), technology forecasting (Dong & Sarkar, 2015), and social media analysis (Emami et al., 2020).
Analyzing the braking system’s environment evolution and tracking environmental data trends are pivotal stages in employing the Environment-based Design (EBD) methodology for braking system analysis (Zeng, 2011, 2020). The outlined process is visually represented in Fig. 1.
The process of environment-driven evolution analysis of the braking system ((Zeng 2020), (Wang & Zeng 2009).
Understanding a product’s environment is crucial for requirement analysis, influencing its evolution and predicting its future (Yang et al., 2022). It aims to pinpoint where the product will operate. The problem statement defines the unexplored environment, forming the basis for analysis, which yields characteristics and relationships within the known environment (Zeng, 2011). The process starts with creating a ROM, explicitly outlining environment components to uncover implicit factors impacting design. Using a ROM matrix, it sets the sequence for questioning (Wang & Zeng, 2009). Then, a lifecycle analysis of these components, within the design context, addresses the questions (Yang et al., 2020; Zeng, 2020). The answers update the original ROM, refining the environment description.
Environment trend analysis
The data collected in the previous step fuels a trend analysis to map the
evolution of brake systems. This analysis hinges on two crucial components: 1)
identifying environment types and 2) employing semantic analysis. For the first
component, natural, human, and built environments and their evolving
requirements are extracted by using the ROM diagram as a linguistic model.
Natural environment (N) encompasses the natural world and its laws; the built
environment (B) covers human-made artifacts with considerations like
manufacturability and transportability; and the human environment (H) involves
interactions between the product and people (designers, users, manufacturers)
(Zeng, 2004). Semantic analysis dives into three factors: the number of
environment components, their contributions compared to other types (see equation 1), and their rate of
changes (equation 2), where “i”
represents the different stage of evolution. The number environment components
refer to the amount of number of environment components extracted from question
answers. Rate of change for each component refer to amplitude of changes for
each type of environment components in each generation. To refine the data,
we’ve applied the moving average (see equation 3) method.
This case study delves into the evolution of braking systems using the Environment-Based Design (EBD) methodology. Without assuming prior knowledge, we’ll explore changes in each braking system type by expanding product-environment descriptions through EBD tools. Since braking systems are well-known in mechanical engineering, assessing the concepts’ validity is relatively straightforward.
The subsequent sections will apply EBD to analyze how major components of braking systems have changed over time. This analysis aims to pinpoint the driving forces behind these evolutions. Each evolution cycle represents a collaborative design effort, often igniting further cycles of change.
Decomposed environment requirements for braking system design
Figure 2 illustrates the initial ROM diagram for designing a braking system, where green objects represent the environment (vehicle, driver), the red objects represent the designed product (braking system), and the purple objects depict the relationships between the product and the environment (a. braking system stops and slows down a vehicle effectively and efficiently; b. driver needs to stop and slow down a vehicle effectively and efficiently.)
ROM diagram for the first problem statement of braking system design.
Following the question generation procedures introduced in (Wang & Zeng 2009; Zeng 2011, 2020), questions shown in Table 2 should be asked in the given order.
Questions for braking system design
Database 1 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.17632/g4brvxr3yc.1) presents the answers to the design questions listed in Table 2. It is important to acknowledge that these answers may vary among different individuals. However, if the answer guidelines are adhered to, the discrepancies will primarily be in the descriptive aspects provided by different people. It is worth noting that these answers require basic engineering knowledge, highlighting the methodology’s reduced dependence on the designer’s experience.
The updated ROM diagram, displayed in Fig. 3, serves as the outcome of the first phase. The updated ROM diagram encompasses implicit components of the environment and their corresponding relationships to the product. While Fig. 3 represents the main content of the ROM diagram, the subcomponents, labeled as Sections 1–6, are presented separately in the database 2 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.17632/mdhvf9jbzg.1).
Extended ROM diagram for the external braking system.
Environments of different braking system generations
The earliest braking system, the external shoe brake was invented by Nicolas Joseph Cugnot in 1769, followed by a compressed air external shoe brake in 1875 (Carley & Mavrigian, 1998). In 1841, external shoe brakes were replaced by contracting band brakes. Hydraulic brake systems, power-assisted brake systems, and disc brake systems were invented one after another (Carley & Mavrigian, 1998; Duffy, 2009; Hasegawa & Uchida, 1999). Anti-lock braking systems, Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) systems, brake-by-wire and regenerative braking systems are the latest advancement in this field (Carley & Mavrigian, 1998; Montani et al., 2019; Sun, 2008; Yoong et al., 2010).
The extracted environment changes from EBD analysis along the evolution of braking system are presented in the Fig. 4, Tables 3 and 4.
Evolution of braking systems along with the enabling technologies.
Environments around vehicle
Environment requirements and changes in different generations of braking systems
Using the same EBD process presented in Sect. 4.1, we can extract the different types of environments and the environment requirements for each generation of braking systems.
Figures 5–7 illustrate braking system evolution including natural, built, and human environment in terms of their number of environments, their rate of change, and their contribution.
Figure 5(a)–7(a) depict the number of environment components. The built environment has the highest number, followed by the natural environment. Both have expanded over brake system evolution, but their impact has diminished (Figs. 5(b, c) and 6(b, c)). Conversely, the human environment had a negligible impact on the early generations of braking systems, but its rate of change and its contribution compared to others have been increased for more recent brake systems (Fig. 7(b, c)).
Evolution of Built environment of brake system.
Evolution of Natural environment of brake system.
Evolution of Human environment of brake system.
The case study underscores the increasing influence of the human environment in recent brake system generations, emphasizing its importance in future developments. This emphasizes the importance of incorporating the evolving human environment in order to make informed decisions and design choices. As a result, considering the different aspects of human environment for a creative design solution is necessary.
In order to extract and forecast the environment around next generation of braking system, the implicit part of human environment must be revealed. Having these implicit information, help designer for designing new generation of braking system. Questioning-and-answering analyze has been performed to understand the human environment around braking system. Drivers, passenger and pedestrian’s safety and comfort in the presence of self driving car are new environment components. Human factors for maintenance team also is another recent human environment component. Database 1 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.17632/g4brvxr3yc.1), presents the result of EBD analysis to extract new environment components.
Why to analyze environment components for evolution analysis?
Analyzing environment components for evolution analysis is essential because product evolution is intricately linked to environmental changes. The aim of design activity is to transition from an existing situation, denoted as the present environment, to a desired state by creating a new artifact (Simon, 2019). Considering the world as a composition of products and their surrounding environments, everything outside the product constitutes its environment (Zeng, 2002). A product-environment system encapsulates not only a design problem but also its solutions and the associated knowledge (Zeng, 2004).
In Figure 8, the creation of a new product or component within the existing environment is depicted during the design process. This new product seamlessly integrates into the evolving environment, becoming an integral part of the subsequent state. This iterative process continues until the designer is satisfied or no further requirements are imposed by the environment components. Thus, the analysis of environment components is crucial as it enables a parallel understanding of how product evolution aligns with environment evolution, providing insights for informed design decisions.
Design evolution process: evolution of environment (Zeng 2020).
Environment-Based Design (EBD) stands as a design methodology that places emphasis on analyzing the environment before delving into the product itself (Zeng, 2011, 2020). The fundamental principle of EBD is that products originate from the environment, serve the environment, and contribute to changes in the environment (Zeng, 2011). EBD tools, such as the ROM diagram and questioning-and-answering templates, empower designers to analyze a product’s evolution by dissecting its environment, extracting implicit aspects, and utilizing this information for trend analysis.
Reliability in predicting a product’s future depends on data extracted from product family trend analysis. While data-driven approaches focus on market and business-related information, design methodologies like TRIZ, Axiomatic Design, function models, co-evolution, and the theory of technical systems often rely heavily on subjective models and designer expertise. To bridge this gap, EBD provides robust tools for posing and answering design questions, structure-driven, thereby making the extraction of design information less subjective, particularly with the assistance of large language models.
Even individuals with limited design knowledge, such as designers or business experts, can employ EBD. In the braking system case study, each evolution stage introduced new design requirements, leading to novel natural, built, and human environments for the product. The EBD’s ROM diagram and questioning-and-answering techniques played a pivotal role in capturing these transformations, allowing systematic extraction of crucial design insights throughout the entire design process (see Fig. 8).
EBD emerges as a natural approach for analyzing both the environment and product evolution. The methodology effectively supports product evolution analysis by extracting objective information throughout its iterative process. Confidence in EBD’s applicability for analyzing product evolution is grounded in its ability to provide designers, regardless of expertise, with a systematic and insightful approach to navigate the intricacies of evolving products within their environments.
Limitation
The study’s limitations include its exclusive focus on braking system evolution, limiting the universal applicability of findings to other product contexts. Future research should extend the EBD methodology to diverse products for a more comprehensive assessment. Additionally, the reliance on English-only information gathering and analysis introduces a linguistic limitation, potentially introducing cultural biases and excluding valuable information in other languages. Overcoming this limitation by incorporating multilingual sources in future research would enhance our understanding of product evolution in diverse cultural contexts.
Conclusion
In summary, this research utilized the Environment-Based Design (EBD) methodology to analyze the evolution of braking systems, showcasing the methodology’s efficacy in extracting insights from the design environment. The study emphasized the connection between product evolution and environment changes, revealing trends in braking system advancements over two centuries. EBD, with its emphasis on environment-first analysis, demonstrated its systematic approach through tools like the Recursive Object Model (ROM) diagram. This methodology proved accessible even to those with limited design knowledge, providing a valuable framework for trend analysis. Acknowledging limitations, such as the exclusive focus on braking systems and linguistic constraints, the study calls for future research diversification. Overall, the research contributes to the discourse on product evolution analysis methodologies, affirming EBD as a valuable tool for designers navigating the complexities of evolving products within dynamic environments.
