Concept Generation Through Morphological and Options Matrices

Abstract

The use of morphological analysis as a tool to aid concept generation is examined. Two principal limitations of the method are highlighted; (1) the lack of details generated for system concepts and (2) the explosion of combinatorial possibilities in the use of morphological matrices. The authors propose a method to support the generation of detailed conceptual ideas through functional combinations and use of options matrices, facilitating an intelligent exploration of the design space. In the options matrices, functions that are highly coupled are grouped together and idea generation is performed on the functional combinations based on identified innovation challenges. A subset of highly coupled functions are extracted from the morphological matrices and systematically integrated to form system level concepts. The resulting system concepts have greater design details compared to those generated through traditional morphological analysis techniques, allowing a designer to make informed decisions regarding their feasibility for the design purpose. An example of the proposed method is provided in the design of a seating chassis for automotive applications.