The advantages of top-down approach to engineering problems
A top-down approach is also known as the stepwise design and in most some cases; it is used as a synonym of decomposition. It is essentially the breaking down of a system in order to gain insights into its compositional and elemental sub-systems or sub-groups. In this approach, a brief or detailed overview of the system is formulated and specifying but does not detail any of the first-level sub-systems. Each sub-system is then defined and refined in yet greater detail, and sometimes in many additional sub-system levels, till the entire specification is reduced to the primary elements and sub-sets. This kind of model is often specified with the assistance of “black boxes”, which make it easier to be manipulated and hence making easy the design process. However, black boxes may fail to elucidate the elementary mechanisms or fail to be detailed enough in order to realistically validate the model. This top down approach begins with the big picture and then breaks down from there into smaller segments and sub-groups.
There are two paradigms of organizations with regards to engineering design. They include the top-down and bottom-up approaches. A lot of both planning and research marks the top-down approach. These would then lead to the development of the product under consideration. Maintaining the goal for the product, the assembly of the product is done on a system-wise basis. This is called structured control. On the other hand, the bottom-up approach tends to be more of experiment-oriented. First, the top-down approach is advantageous when the Product Concept Design Cycle is lightly experimental and also when the product is not something which is completely new. Secondly, when the project being carried out is under tight budget; this would ensure that maximum savings are realized by thoroughly planning for the budget at the commencement of the design cycle. Thirdly, when building a large complex system, like a machine, normally needs to be broken down into smaller manageable problems that can be easily solved. For this reason, top-down approach would become very instrumental. Furthermore, top-down approach does not require too many voices or hands to partake of the project. This would not only save time required for the completion of the project but it would also give room for one to think creatively into ways of solving the problem at hand.
