An introduction to multilevel flow modeling

Multilevel Flow Modeling (MFM) is a methodology for functional modeling of industrial processes on several interconnected levels of means-end and part-whole abstractions. The basic idea of MFM is to represent an industrial plant as a system which provides the means required to serve purposes in its environment. MFM has a primary focus on plant goals and functions and provide a methodological way of using those concepts to represent complex industrial plant. The paper gives a brief introduction to the historical development, introduces the concepts of MFM and presents the application of the concepts in detail by a water mill example. The overall reasoning capabilities of MFM and its basis in cause-effect relations are also explained. The appendix contains an overview of MFM concepts and their definitions.