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Axiomatic Design 279

parameters as represented in the design matrices and hierarchies is
vital. Without this ability, the design process becomes a confusing
assignment, which can ultimately lead to poor design.
The basic assumption of the axiomatic approach to design is that
there exists a fundamental set of good design principles that deter-
mines good design practice. The method was born out of the need to
develop disciplinary base for design. The work started in 1977, when
Professor Nam Suh, the founder, was asked by Professor Herbert
Richardson, MIT’s Mechanical Engineering Department Head, to
establish a center for manufacturing research at MIT. Professor Suh
started with a $40,000 fund and two part-time assistant professors
and established the Laboratory for Manufacturing and Productivity
(LMP). After some communication with National Science Foundation
(NSF), a proposal was then put together for the method. By 1984, LMP
had become a large and successful organization with substantial
industrial funding. Several papers were published on the application
and the first book appeared in 1990. The first International
Conference on Axiomatic Design (ICAD) was held in June, 2000.
Research in axiomatic design method is starting to have specific
tracks. In the design and development process, a significant amount of
esteemed research was developed by (Sohlenius, 1997), (Hintersteiner,
1999a), (Hintersteiner, 1999b), (Nordlund et al., 1996), (El-Haik and
Yang, 1999), (El-Haik and yang, 2000a), and (El-Haik and Yang,
2000b). Another track of development concentrates on concept synthesis
and design weaknesses. For example, the sequence in which design
changes can be made is discussed by Tate, et al. (1998). The coupling
weakness in design is discussed by Lee (1999).
The most significant contributions of the method are: the zigzagging
system architecture approach, the axioms, and the identification of
design weaknesses. The method captures the requirements, the FRs,
components, DPs or PVs, and their relationships in design matrices.
This information can be depicted in a variety of ways. These include
trees of design hierarchies and design matrices, flow charts, and
module-junction structure diagrams (Kim, et al. 1991), (Suh, 1996),
and (Suh, 1997), (Suh, 2001). El-Haik (2005) developed a conceptual
DFSS based on axiomatic design.