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Battery packs are highly sensitive to operating environment and their interactions with other systems in electric vehicles (EVs). Control of the operating environment and understanding of the influences of these interactions on battery performances are required to maximise their energy capacity and cycle life in EVs. This paper presents a modified parameter diagram (P-diagram) which is a part of systematic effort to design a robust battery pack. In the modified P-diagram, the physical inputs that affect the performance of a battery pack are identified and categorised into noise factors and control factors, where the former limits the performance and the latter can be used to improve it. Different noise factors are conceptually analysed in conjunction with various control factors and graded according to their relative influence on the performance of a battery pack. The performance is measured in terms of ideal function output and potential error states.

The Malaysia National Automotive Policy (NAP 2014) focuses on the systemic changes needed for the country to develop a competitive and sustainable automotive manufacturing sector. Alternative electric vehicles (EV) -including the public transport sector, in particular buses - forms part of this strategy. This also features in the Transport Scenarios for the Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan for 2020. Kuala Lumpur's population is expected to reach 10 million by 2020, the current public transport system is beset by problems, e.g. route congestion, a growing trend of private car ownership among a rising middle-class, and a range of environmental and infrastructure issues which must be challenged. A human-centred design approach to public transport focuses on developing (future) scenarios to accommodate the 2020 economic, environmental and social considerations building on Design for Sustainability (DfS), user needs, behaviour change and inclusivity principles.