Product systems are deemed "modular", for example, when they can be decomposed into a number of components that may be mixed and matched in a variety of configurations.
[7][8] The components are able to connect, interact, or exchange resources (such as energy or data) in some way, by adhering to a standardized interface.
[11] Organizational systems are said to become increasingly modular when they begin to substitute loosely coupled forms for tightly integrated, hierarchical structures.
In this connection the dissemination of modular organizational forms has been facilitated by the widespread efforts of the majority of large firms to re-engineer, refocus and restructure.
For instance, while Fodor distinguishes between separate modules for spoken and written language, Block might further decompose the spoken language module into modules for phonetic analysis and lexical forms:[18] "Decomposition stops when all the components are primitive processors—because the operation of a primitive processor cannot be further decomposed into suboperations"[19] Though Fodor's work on modularity is one of the most extensive, there is other work in psychology on modularity worth noting for its symmetry with modularity in other disciplines.
For example, it may refer to organisms that have an indeterminate structure wherein modules of various complexity (e.g., leaves, twigs) may be assembled without strict limits on their number or placement.
Many plants and sessile (immobile) invertebrates of the benthic zones demonstrate this type of modularity (by contrast, many other organisms have a determinate structure that is predefined in embryogenesis).
For instance, evolutionary biologists may focus on the module as a morphological component (subunit) of a whole organism, while developmental biologists may use the term module to refer to some combination of lower-level components (e.g., genes) that are able to act in a unified way to perform a function.
For instance, Rudy Raff[24] provides the following list of characteristics that developmental modules should possess: To Raff's mind, developmental modules are "dynamic entities representing localized processes (as in morphogenetic fields) rather than simply incipient structures ... (... such as organ rudiments)".
[24]: 326 Bolker, however, attempts to construct a definitional list of characteristics that is more abstract, and thus more suited to multiple levels of study in biology.
She argues that: Another stream of research on modularity in biology that should be of particular interest to scholars in other disciplines is that of Günter Wagner and Lee Altenberg.
In the classical architecture of Greco-Roman antiquity, the module was utilized as a standardized unit of measurement for proportioning the elements of a building.
With the advent of modernism and advanced construction techniques in the 20th century this latter definition transforms modularity from a compositional attribute to a thematic concern in its own right.
A school of modular constructivism develops in the 1950s among a circle of sculptors who create sculpture and architectural features out of repetitive units cast in concrete.
Modular building as both an industrial production model and an object of advanced architectural investigation develops from this same period.
After a few isolated experiments in ModulArt starting in the 1950s,[30] several artists since the 1990s have explored this flexible, customizable and co-creative form of art.
[31] Modularity in fashion is the ability to customise garments through adding and removing elements or altering the silhouette, usually via zips, hook and eye closures or other fastenings.
Within the realm of Haute Couture, Yohji Yamamoto and Hussein Chalayan are notable examples, the latter especially for his use of technology to create modular garments.
The current emphasis within modular fashion is on the co-designing and customisation factors for consumers, with a goal to combat the swift changes to customers needs and wants, while also tackling sustainability by increasing the life-cycle of garments.
Sofas are a common piece that have modular utilities ranging from ottoman to a bed, as well as fabrics and textiles that are swappable.
[35] In John Blair's Modular America,[36] he argues that as Americans began to replace social structures inherited from Europe (predominantly England and France), they evolved a uniquely American tendency towards modularity in fields as diverse as education, music, and architecture.
Blair observes that when the word module first emerged in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, it meant something very close to model.
However, in America, the meaning and usage of the word shifted considerably: "Starting with architectural terminology in the 1930s, the new emphasis was on any entity or system designed in terms of modules as subcomponents.
This is aptly captured in a quote from David Marr[38] about psychological processes where he notes that, "any large computation should be split up into a collection of small, nearly independent, specialized subprocesses."
In biology, even modules that are considered homologous may be somewhat different in form and function (e.g., a whale's fin versus a human's hand).
In Blair's book, he points out that while jazz music may be composed of structural units that conform to the same underlying rules, those components vary significantly.