Modularity theory of the design process for complex products

Modularity is an effective way to handle complexity, and the design development process ismodularized in thecollaborative and integrated design process for complex products. If the design process in specific groups can be encapsulated andshared in a greater scope, some benefits can be anticipated. Present researches on modularity theory provides no mathematical methods which can be used to prove the rationality of modularizing the design development process. From this point of view, thispaper gives the mathematical proof on the rationality of the design process modularization based on definitions and hypotheses in the design process. Combining and splitting rationality of design development is proved and the theoretical basis provides supports to the encapsulation and sharing of design processes. By the adoption of this form of modularization and sharing, the application scope of design resources and design patterns can be enlarged, thus, the design quality may be improved and the design cost may be reduced indirectly.