Functional analysis: find the elements of the external environment (EME) and the induced constraints

As the designer-director of a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME), you need to "redesign" or "create" a product that exactly meets the user's needs.

The user's needs must be met in a defined environment. It's up to you to find the parameters that affect product use.

The user and the environment limit the designer's freedom of choice. They place constraints on the product.

It's up to you to identify and organize all the constraints and external media (EM) (elements of the environment) of the product under study.

• How do I start a study?

• What are the study's limitations?

• What kind of constraints are we talking about?

• What is an external medium (EMP)?

• What are the implications for my product or system?

This sheet will help you :

• list all constraints by identifying the elements of the external environment or external environments (environmental constraints on the product);

• and organize them.

By reviewing all the constraints and external environments (ME), you may be able to detect any missing functions during the functional expression of the requirement (see Functional analysis: expressing the requirement in terms of functions and methods for finding functions [FIC 0616] ).