Info 202 Fall 2011

The diagram above describes the lighting and horn systems in a 1964 Ford Falcon.

This sort of technical diagram illustrates important relations between components and the wiring that connects these components.

From today's topic description: A relationship is “an association among several things, with that association having a

particular significance”.

In this case the "association" could be viewed as a working lighting system, which is important for signaling and operating a vehicle on the road.  In another sense, the functioning of the lighting components in this automobile depends upon a specific combination wires, which themselves form important electrical associations in this system.

• What is being organized – Information about wires and components in an automobile panel, as well as the important physical properties and ordering of these things.  Scale is very granular, and scope applies to a specific make and model (1964 Ford Falcon).
  
• Why it is being organized – This diagram enables an auto repairman or technician and potentially an automobile enthusiast to perform repairs and/or upgrades on these systems.  Individual users are not specifically known.  The organization is being done to serve a business and commercial goal.
  
• How much is it being organized – Degree of description is very high, going to specific colors and part numbers.  Relations are described in terms of physical locations and functions.  This diagram makes use of the principle of perspectives (views) to provide useful information about orientations of parts.
  
• When is it being organized – Not clear as to when. It may have been the case that engineers at Ford created some version of this diagram to inform the production process. Or, perhaps it was created after production to serve the secondary market.
  
• By whom (or by what computational processes) it is being organized – Given that the vehicle is from 1964 we might conclude that some individual professionals or a group of specialists created this organization.  Perhaps some form of automation or computational process was used.  It would seem that more current vehicle manuals would want to incorporate those types of methods.