11:08
EM.411 meeting Eric Rebentisch System Engineering
Interface
Interface design
Speaking is an interface between two brains
Interfaces have Layers of abstraction
NPR radio -> listener
Human language
Satellite communication
Interfaces might also contain multiple sub-interfaces
Implies that systems are made up of sub-systems
Is a sub system different from a module ?
I suspect it’s only semantic
A system can be represented as a network
An interface is a connection in the network
Can show connections through a DSM
DSM
DSM of DSMs is a multi domain matrix
Really a data visualization tool
dsmweb.org
A fully populated DSM is a poorly designed system, I think
Sparsity
Off diagonal clusters represent connective modules between clusters / modules
What systems are not themselves interfaces ?
Again thinking of systems as a set of inputs and outputs
Common interfaces enable modularity
Modular Design
The spectrum of consumer modularity
Modular phone failed
Google project Ara phone
Too commoditized, operating too much at the margin of performance already
Framework Modular laptop
Might work? TBD
Modular desktop
Very standard
Modularity for consumers is different than modularity for producers
Internal API modularity can be about reducing maintenance or future iteration cost
Interfaces are handoffs
How does user experience plug in with all this talk of interfaces?