The Functional Domain

Abstract

The functional domain was introduced in Sec. B4.3, and there is nothing about this concept that limits it to systems engineering; functionality is a feature of all engineered objects, and the abstraction away from any particular physical object has been utilised by engineers in their search for better solutions since the very beginning of engineering. This is exactly what James Watt did when he realised the function of creating a vacuum by condensation in the form of a separate condenser, instead of it being integral to the cylinder. However, as this example demonstrates, the search for solutions was always carried out in the physical domain; the functional domain was never considered as a domain in which one could actually perform engineering. This was, and still is, quite appropriate and efficient for simple functions. But as the functions become more complex, the process becomes inefficient, as we already mentioned in Sec. B4.4, and we want to improve the efficiency by carrying out some of the design in the functional domain before making the transition into the physical domain.