**Abstract**

Product quality determines how well a product meets the customer's requirements. One way of measuring and ensuring that the product's quality is achieved is through incorporating the functional analysis approach in the design process of the product, especially at early stage of lifecycle. A case study involving the design of a dual axis solar tracking system is used to illustrate the approach. In the study, the designed solar tracking concept was compared to existing mechanisms. The designed concept was found to be, generally, less complex than existing models.

**Keywords:** design, quality, complexity, solar energy, functional analysis
