Process Models in Design and Development

Organising framework

The framework was designed to cluster similar models together, such that models within each cluster can be meaningfully compared and such that the clusters themselves can be meaningfully related. To approach this, we note that each model is a simplification or abstraction of a perceived or envisaged situation, in which the form of the model is influenced by the intentions of the modeller. It follows that models can be meaningfully grouped according to (1) the characteristics of the targeted situation and (2) the overall purpose of the model. The organising framework that was developed from this concept comprises two dimensions each subdivided into several categories. These are introduced in the next subsections prior to discussing the models themselves.