Database Reference
In-Depth Information
Defense engineering traditionally develops the product structure from
the top down. The system engineering process prescribes a functional
decomposition of requirements and then physical allocation of product
structure to the functions. This top-down approach would normally have
lower levels of the product structure developed from CAD data as a bot-
tom-up structure or design.
Both-Ends-against-the-Middle Design
Both-ends-against-the-middle (BEATM) design is a design process
that endeavors to combine the best features of top-down design and
bottom-up design into one process. A BEATM design process flow
may begin with an emergent technology which suggests solutions that
may have value, or it may begin with a top-down view of an impor-
tant problem that needs a solution. In either case, the key attribute
of BEATM design methodology is to immediately focus at both ends
of the design process flow: a top-down view of the solution require-
ments, and a bottom-up view of the available technology that may offer
promise of an efficient solution. The BEATM design process proceeds
from both ends in search of an optimum merging somewhere between
the top-down requirements and the bottom-up approach that leads to
efficient implementation. In this fashion, BEATM has been shown to
genuinely offer the best of both methodologies. Indeed some of the
best success stories from either top-down or bottom-up have been
successful because of an intuitive, yet unconscious use of the BEATM
methodology. When employed consciously, BEATM offers even more
powerful advantages.
Front Loading
Front loading is taking top-down design to the next stage. The complete
control structure and review structure, as well as downstream data such
as drawings, tooling development, and CAM models, are constructed
before the product has been defined or a project kickoff has been autho-
rized. These assemblies of files constitute a template from which a family
of products can be constructed. When the decision has been made to go
with a new product, the parameters of the product are entered into the
template model, and all the associated data is updated. Obviously, pre-
defined associative models will not be able to predict all possibilities and
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