Feature in product engineering with single and variant design approaches. A comparative review

The paper contributes to the study of Feature concept by analyzing its use in techniques and models of both classical engineering and for the product engineering with variants. In particular, the latter field broadens the classical modeling problem via the introduction of concepts like product family and product line. Until today the literature dedicated to classical product engineering has focused on the study of the so-called engineering features, e.g. form or functional features, and has ignored a class of features that one finds in techniques related to the analysis and design of products with variants. This work intends to overcome this deficit by providing a broader vision of the problem and by pointing out the need for a renewed analysis and classification of feature definitions based on their originating desing context. The work is part of a research project which aims to provide a conceptual framework to unify multiple feature notions and develop feature-base methodologies and applications to support product design.