FBS models: An attempt at reconciliation towards a common representation

FBS is one of the most followed and studied design theories, as evidenced by the numerous investigations and rework on the subject. It is often used to provide a better understanding on existing design methods and tools in order to make them more accurate or efficient. Nevertheless the resulting methods are often loose or too heterogeneous to be easily applied; what is lacking is a scheme of collection that supports design process from the beginning to the end, while considering all possible facets. This paper contains an attempt at reconciling many previous works on FBS, through a homogeneous and unique representation: All the elements (function, behaviour, structure, affordances, signals) have been reformulated according to the designer's and user's perspective, in terms of perception and interpretation; in this way they could be bound together in a common ontological reformulation of a more extensive scheme. In this article, we propose a bond between the various elements, using a logical-mathematical form.