Functional Diagram

In the OSE sense of the word, we mean a Diagram of How it Works. The distinction between the Functional Diagram and How it Works is that the latter focuses on more general principles, whereas the Functional Diagram focuses more on the specific implementation path particular to the artifact being built.

This is a diagram that can take many forms, but should outline the basic design principles that show a clear lead to reification. Depending on the product being developed - on its complexity and main design challenge - the diagram may focus on structural design or functional design.

Functional Diagram can refer to structure or function. For structure, it can be a general diagram showing parts, and possibly specifying materials used and dimensions. For functions or complex systems, this may also be a Functional Block Diagram - [1]. Since we are aiming for popular participation, the more graphical the format the better - in which case the limit of a Functinal Diagram would be an infographic.

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Diagramming of functionality can take many forms. See Activity Diagram (what is accomplished), Actions or Task Analysis (how an activity is accomplished), Block Diagram, Function Structure Diagram. It appears that a Function Structure Diagram may be a subset of the Functional Block Diagram.

Other related diagrams/models: It can be a mixture of a Workflow, Functional Flow Block Diagram, Function Model, Logic Model, Functional Diagram, Flowchart, Business Process Model, Flow Process Chart.

Logic refers to how something works from the control perspective. This includes operation logic, sequence, and feedback for systems that may involve automation. This is not about logic gates in circuits, though the topics are related.

Diagramming software (cloud-collaborative-realtime-embeddable) should be used.