Physical interface ontology for management of conflicts and risks in complex systems

Interface definitions are important in complex system design because they contribute to the definition and satisfaction of functional flows. Design structure matrix approaches have only recently focused on supporting the challenge of integrating possible interface types in conceptual design. We propose a physical interface data model to define the interface design space and thus support interface definition. This data model is integrated into the system architecture definitions and uses shared design parameters to detect risk and conflicts in collaborative design. A case study in an oil industry has been conducted to test the proposed approach and define difficulties in the implementation phase.