Node A6 · Acronym decoder
IDEF0
Integration Definition for Function Modeling
What it actually means
A function modeling method where every activity is a box with inputs entering left, controls entering top, outputs leaving right, and mechanisms entering below (ICOM) — and any box can decompose into a child diagram of three to six boxes. Born from 1970s Air Force manufacturing programs and standardized as FIPS 183, it remains one of the clearest ways to show what a system does and what governs each activity.
Where you'll meet it
Process and functional analysis; this site's diagram builder implements the standard.