novoassemblies

Novoassemblies is a term used to describe a class of modular, configurable systems designed to assemble complex products, processes, or data workflows from reusable units. In theory, it encompasses both physical manufacturing setups and software-driven pipelines, emphasizing decomposability, explicit interfaces, and reproducibility. The concept seeks to replace monolithic designs with networks of interchangeable subassemblies, enabling rapid reconfiguration and scalable production.

The term began appearing in interdisciplinary discussions in the early 2020s as researchers and practitioners explored approaches to flexible manufacturing, composable software architectures, and automated content pipelines. A typical novoassembly consists of modular units (subassemblies) that expose standard interfaces, a dependency and versioning model, and an orchestration layer that schedules assembly steps and ensures consistency across configurations. Descriptors or schemas define how modules connect, what inputs they require, and what outputs they produce.

Applications span manufacturing lines that can be retooled for different products, software build and deployment pipelines, data processing workflows, and creative or media production.

Advantages include improved adaptability, reuse of components, traceability of changes, and potential reductions in lead times. Challenges involve achieving common standards for interfaces, managing versioning across modules, ensuring reliability of compositions, and addressing governance and security concerns.

See also modular design, workflow management, build systems, and composable architectures.