Subsystem and coupling cost considerations using a visual dependency structure matrix

This research demonstrates a methodology that allows designers to incorporate the expense of couplings into their analysis planning activities. While disciplinary analysis tools are increasingly automated, the linkages between functional groups remain largely manual in nature. Results from analyses generally must be manually prepared before used as input to another analysis. This expense of coupling complex system analyses has not previously been addressed in sequencing, scheduling, convergence, or coupling suspension research. The research presented in this paper proposes a new model for evaluating the time and cost of a complex system analysis, whether in the context of a system-level optimization or the evaluation of a single design point. When coupled with visualization-based tools, the proposed model allows designers to evaluate a wider range of analysis scenarios.