If we are to make logical decisions and choices in product and systems development, we need to have criteria to measure the value or relative importance of aspects of alternative proposals. This is an essential pre‒requisite for part of trade studies. Both the client (customer, user) and the engineer have such measures, and these are related.
- Measures of Effectiveness (MoE) represent the customer view, usually annotated and of qualitative nature. They describe the customers’ expectations of a product, project or system; the voice of the customer.
- Measures of Performance (MoP) are the corresponding view of the engineer; a technical specification for a product. Typically Measures for Performance are quantitative and consist of a range of values about the desired point. These values are what an engineer targets when designing the product, by changing shape, materials and manufacturing process, so as to finally achieve the qualities desired by the customer.
Many of the results from this method may appear to be logical and obvious requirements. However, as the product becomes more complex, the systematic approach of breaking down the customers’ requirements into their most basic components, aids to understanding where requirements were derived.
This method enables the formation of a complete list of customer needs and wants, from which broad engineering specifications are developed. When developing the Measures of Performance, it is necessary to distinguish needs and wants in the design. These then enable engineering design to proceed with some basic known constraints and variables. Weightings can be attached to each design requirement, both for Measures of Effectiveness and Measures of Performance. Evaluation of alternate designs can be made through the use of a method such as “Weighted objective decision matrix” or similar methods.
[1] The University of Queensland, MECH4551 – System Design Projects – Semester 2 2001, Design Methods Fact Sheet Measures of Effectiveness (MOE) and Measures of Performance (MOP)
