6.3 Suspended Ceiling Design Process - Bilkent University

Although the method seems to be useful for activity-based DSMs, it can
not be used for parameter-based DSMs that already include the
undividable components of a process.
In this dissertation, it is proposed that parameter-based DSMs can be
produced at two levels as the following to manage the size and legibility of
the matrices.
1. Single subsystem (Assembly) level: The matrix contains the parameter
relationships in a single subsystem.
2. System interfaces to a subsystem: The matrix contains the parameter
relationships between different subsystems.
This grouping also enables the modeler to compare assembly and system
level DSMs and to comment on the design process.
5.3.5 Complementary Use of IDEF0 and DSM
The author’s interest in IDEF0 (U.S. NIST, 1993) models resulted from
practical concerns while developing DSMs for the case studies. Developing
a DSM may be a difficult task because as the number of elements
increase, the points of interactions increase geometrically. Therefore,
individuals may have difficulty in building DSMs with more than ten
elements (Browning, 2001). In that case, it is often useful to use another
complementary technique to ease the modeling process. Malmström et al.
(1999) mention the complementary roles of IDEF0 and DSM for the
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