Axiomatic Design

Axiomatic Design is a design concept that was introduced by

Nam Pyo Suh who works at MIT, United States. It proposes a
systematic approach for the design of products, processes,
components, software etc. It applies a scientific approach for
designing products according to customer needs. The below
are the two main concepts of Axiomatic Deign:
1. It is based on a four level design process and the four
levels are zig-zagged for an optimal design (excepting
customer requirements)

As explained in the figure, all Customer requirements are

listed individually and split to lower levels as required. Each
requirement should be addressed by one or more functional
requirements. A Matrix is designed to represent the
relationship between the two domains. Similarly, functional
requirements are then converted into design parameters and
into Process Variables subsequently. Based on the scope and
applicability the design parameters are modified to suit the

process variables and Functional requirements as per the

Design parameter. This is known as Zig-zagging.
2. It has Two axioms at its base for each deign feature.
a. Axiom 1: Independent Axiom: This axiom is the key for
the entire design. It maintains the independence of the
Functional requirements, thereby ensuring that none of the
requirements are compromised or left out. It ensures a
complete and robust design of the product.
b. Axiom 2: Information Axiom: It minimizes the information
content. Among various alternatives available to satisfy Axiom
1, this axiom chooses the one with minimum information, and
thus ensures to get an optimal design cost and a simple
product.
The above two concepts are the core for the success of
Axiomatic design. Axiomatic design I proved to address the
issues of Taguchi methods. Thus it is used across industries

to design a complete product with optimal cost that is simple

and user-friendly and in a minimal time by eliminating trial and
error methods.