Abstract
This work analyzes the change in the modularity of engineered systems upon leveraging function-sharing in the systems. Function-sharing refers to the simultaneous implementation of multiple functions by a single component. Leveraging function-sharing reduces the number of components constituting a system, and leads to improvements in the system’s performance characteristics. However, leveraging function-sharing in a system’s design is often presumed to decrease the system’s modularity and, consequently, inhibit the design benefits of maintaining a high system modularity. This work performs a simulation-based analysis to show that leveraging function-sharing may not necessarily decrease a system’s modularity. The change in a system’s modularity upon leveraging function-sharing is shown to be dependent upon the initial modularity of the system, the strength of inter-dependencies between the components that are combined to leverage function-sharing, and the strength of interactions between the teams designing the system modules. The analysis is performed by generating a sample set of hypothetical modular systems, and modeling them as undirected networks. Function-sharing is then simulated in the sample systems, and the change in the modularity of the systems upon implementing function-sharing is quantified using an existing modularity metric. The information presented in this work can support the design of systems that can simultaneously leverage function-sharing and exhibit a high modularity.