6.3 Suspended Ceiling Design Process - Bilkent University

4. DESIGN STRUCTURE MATRIX METHOD
The design structure matrix method has its roots in the 1960s, when
several efforts were devoted to solving systems of equations. During the
following years, developments in areas such as matrix mathematics,
network diagramming and interface-to-interface (N-to-N or N²) diagrams
of systems engineering have supported such work. Donald Steward first
coined the term “design structure matrix” and applied these concepts to
design in 1981 (Steward, 1981). The design structure matrix method
gained more credibility as a result of several researches at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1990’s. In recent years, DSM
research has expanded to include many new areas, and a more general
term, “Dependency Structure Matrix,” has come to be used.
In this chapter, following an explanation of how the DSM method works,
four types of DSMs and their applications are discussed. The chapter
also reviews the applications of the method in the AEC industry and the
available DSM tools.
4.1 Description of the Method
A design structure matrix is a matrix representation of a system or a
project. The rows and columns of the symmetric matrix consist of a list
of all elements of the system and matrix elements represent the
corresponding dependency patterns. System components are listed in
the first row and the first column of the matrix in a roughly temporal
order. Off-diagonal cells indicate the dependency of one system
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