Research tools for analysing design margins in complex engineered systems
Three integrated modules — parametric margin valuation, top-down margin allocation, and probabilistic margin risk — built around the Margin Value Method.
A step-by-step walkthrough of building and using a margin cascade.
This tutorial walks through a full cascade on a simple worked example: a small consumer product whose stakeholder needs are translated into requirements, then into architectural element targets, then into design parameter margins.
You only need a modern web browser. The module runs entirely client-side; no installation is required.
Open the cascade tool and add the stakeholder needs at the top level. Each need carries an importance weight reflecting its relative priority — gathered from interviews, surveys, or domain expertise.
Add the system requirements that, taken together, satisfy the stakeholder needs. Fill in the relationship cells — strong, medium, weak, or none — between each need and each requirement. The module rolls up the importance weights to give a prioritised list of requirements at the bottom edge of the matrix.
The prioritised requirements automatically become the inputs of the next matrix. Add the architectural elements (subsystems, functional blocks) and fill in the relationship cells. The module produces weighted target margins at architectural level.
Repeat the cascade one more level: each architectural target is decomposed into the design parameters that engineers will set. The module's output is a list of target margins on every design parameter, with a clear chain of justification back to a stakeholder need.
Switch to the Sankey view to see the entire cascade as a flow diagram. Hover over any design parameter to see exactly which requirements and stakeholder needs drove its target margin.
Edit any cell at any level. Changes propagate forward through the cascade automatically, so you can test the effect of re-prioritising needs or restructuring the architecture without re-doing the matrices manually.