TRIZ

2009-02-03T02:19:00.000-08:00

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TRIZ: Theory of Inventive Problem Solving

It was thought all along that inventions and discoveries are done by some rare, special and gifted people through some sudden enlightenment and intuitions and other times by lots of sweat of trial and error.
Genrich Altshuller, Russian engineer proved it wrong.
He searched for a general, systematic and scientific way of inventing things which he called TRIZ.

You may also like to refer: http://problem-solving-skill.blogspot.com/ (Problem Solving) and http://critical-thinking-skills.blogspot.com/ (Critical Thinking skills)

Full Form of TRIZ

TRIZ is acronym of Russian phrase "Teorija Rezbenija Izobretatelskib Zadach". It's meaning is: Theory of inventive problem solving.

History

During his tenure in the patent department of Russian navy Altshuller went through thousands of patents and came to the conclusion that invention was not by chance.
Having found a method in madness, he theorized his conclusions and wrote his first book "How to invent?" in 1961.
In 1969, Altshuller wrote another book titled "Algorithm for inventing" where wrote about his famous 40 principles.
Over next 30 years TRIZ was taught in Russia's academic institutions, R&D organizations, military etc.
After the political and social changes that took place in 1990, TRIZ was known by the western world and became significant success in USA, UK, France, Japan, Korea and Israel.

Contradictions

When one tries to improve one factor in a system, some other factor gets affected. For example: if one has to improve the performance of a car for it's mileage per litre of fuel, the car body weight needs to be reduced. One may use thinner gauges of metal sheets for this but thin gauged sheets are susceptible to dents by even minor hits. Then the effort are focused on improving this weakness and some new solution is invented.
How contradictions are removed, reduced or compromised is the core of TRIZ. Altshuller's 40 principles deal with various possibilities of tackling the contradictions. When you minimize the contradictions of a system, you are nearer to ideal final solution.

The 40 Principles of Innovation (40 Principles of TRIZ)

Based on the examination of 2 to 2.5 million patents by Altshuller and his colleagues, following 40 principles of problem solving were formulated:

Segmentation
Extraction
Local quality
Asymmetry
Consolidation
Universality
Nesting
Counter weight
Prior counteraction
Prior action
Cushion or preparation in advance
Equipotentiality
Do it in reverse
Spheroidality
Dynamicity
Partial or excessive action
Transition into a new dimension
Mechanical vibration
Periodic action
Continuity of useful action
Rushing through
Convert harm into benefit
Feedback
Mediator
Self service
Copying
Dispose
Replacement of mechanical system
Pneumatic or hydraulic constructions
Flexible membranes or thin films
Porous material
Changing the color
Homogeneity
Rejecting and regenerating parts
Transformation of properties
Phase transition
Thermal expansion
Accelerated oxidation
Inert environment
Composite materials

Few Examples Using These Principles

Use of "segmentation" principle: To put out a big fire lots of water is needed which also damages the area. to solve these problems segmentation principle suggests used of water particles or mist.

Use of "cushion or preparation in advance" principle: In malls, the price tags on the goods being sold uses magnetic code which gets demagnetized at the time of billing. In case of shop lifting, a magnetic sensor near the exit of the mall detects the non-magnetized price tag and alarms the security guards.

Selecting the Principle(s) for Problem Solving

One should go through all the 40 principles while solving a problem. Then identify the one that is most appropriate and suits the problem the most. Many a time more than one principle may be suitable. In that case, one can use all the suitable principles to solve the problem.

Characteristics People Want to Improve

Altshuller identified 39 characteristics that people normally wish to improve. They are:

Weight of a mobile object
Weight of a stationary object
Length of a mobile object
Length of a stationary object
Area of a mobile object
Area of a stationary object
Volume of a mobile object
Volume of a stationary object
Speed
Force
Tension/Pressure
Shape
Stability of composition
Strength
Time of action of a moving object
Time of action of a stationary object
Temperature
Brightness
Energy spent by a moving object
Energy spent by a stationary object
Power
Loss of energy
Loss of substance
Loss of information
Loss of time
Amount of substance
Reliability
Accuracy of measurement
Accuracy of manufacturing
Harmful factors acting on an object from outside
Harmful factors developed by an object
Manufaturability
Convenience of use
Repairability
Adaptability
Complexity of a device
Complexity of control
Level of automation
Capacity/Productivity

Contradiction Matrix

As mentioned earlier, when one tries to improve one of the above mentioned 39 characteristics, some other characteristics get adversely affected. We call it a technical contradiction.

Altshuller made a 39 rows by 39 columns matrix (from these 39 characteristics), where rows represent the characteristics that need to be improved and columns represent the characteristics that get affected by the change (improvement). The cell at the intersection of the row and the column has numbers of the principles (out of the 40 principles of innovation listed earlier) that were historically used by many persons most frequently to solve that particular trade off.

It requires lots of judgment and experience to use this matrix. Therefore, new users of TRIZ may initially use the principles directly rather than going through the matrix.

For More Guidance, Assistance, Training and Consultation

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Also refer: http://prodcons-group.blogspot.com/, http://training-development-function.blogspot.com/ and http://productivity-consultants.blogspot.com/

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