Design structure matrix: Difference between revisions

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[[File:A sample Design Structure Matrix (DSM).png|273x193px|framed|right|A sample DSM with 7 elements and 11 dependency marks.]]

The '''Designdesign Structurestructure Matrixmatrix''' ('''DSM'''; also referred to as '''dependency structure matrix''', '''dependency structure method''', '''dependency source matrix''', '''problem solving matrix (PSM)''', '''incidence matrix''', '''''N²'' matrix''', '''interaction matrix''', '''dependency map''' or '''design precedence matrix''') is a simple, compact and visual representation of a system or project in the form of a square [[matrix (mathematics)|matrix]].<ref name="DSMbook">S.D. Eppinger and T.R. Browning, [http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/design-structure-matrix-methods-and-applications Design Structure Matrix Methods and Applications], MIT Press, Cambridge, 2012.</ref>

It is the equivalent of an [[adjacency matrix]] in [[graph theory]], and is used in [[systems engineering]] and [[project management]] to model the structure of complex systems or processes, in order to perform system analysis, project planning and organization design. [[Don Steward]] coined the term "design structure matrix" in the 1960s,<ref>D. V. Steward: ''The Design Structure System: A Method for Managing the Design of Complex Systems.'' In: ''IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management.'' 28(3), 1981, S. 71-74.</ref> using the matrices to solve mathematical systems of equations.