Design – Tool of Management

How to foster creativity and product engineering, through systematic innovation

Design for Problem Solving

Gaetano Cascini

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Reasons Why

• Organizations want to deliver to their customers innovative and creative solutions. But they are not always successful!

• Also, designers from any kind of enterprises, including SMEs often face technical problems for which they struggle to find an effective solution.

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What You Will Learn

• To get awareness of different problem-solving tools for innovation engineering.

• To foster problem solving and innovation in any kind of enterprise

• To exploit the TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving)

• To get inspiration from nature

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Are these inventions? Are they creative?

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Innovation, Opportunities and Threats

From basic research, to market exploitation

source: ca.gov

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From raw ideas to success products

Stages of New Product Development

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

1

10

100

1000

10,000

Nu

mb

er

of

Idea

s

3000 Raw Ideas (Unwritten)

300 Ideas Submitted

125 Small Projects

9 Early Stage Development

4 Major Development

1.7 Launches 1 Success

Source: G. Stevens and J. Burley, “3000 Raw Ideas = 1 Commercial Success!” Research•Technology Management, 40(3): 16-27, May-June, 1997.

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Psychological Inertia

• Which is the minimum size of a CD player?

Which is the minimum size of a A4 printer?

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Psychological Inertia

• Which is the minimum size of a CD player?

Which is the minimum size of a A4 printer?

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Psychological Inertia Trial and Error

“You’ve got to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your princess...”

“It is difficult to find a black cat in a dark room especially when the cat is not there.”

Ideal Solutions (benefits/costs)

Solution Space

Random Methods

Systematic Innovation

Brainstorming Synectics Reframing Lateral thinking SCAMPER...

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Lack of Structured Approach

Problem (Primary school)

How to distribute 50

cherries among 3 kids?

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Lack of Structured Approach

Type of Problem: arithmetic Model of problem : 50:3 Tool: division Model of Solution : 16,666...

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Lack of Structured Approach

Solution:

16 cherries

to each kid

Specific

Problem

General Model

of the Problem

General Model

of the Solution

Specific

Solution

Analysis and Abstraction

General Instruments

Solution Generation

Type of Problem: arithmetic Model of problem : 50:3 Tool: division Model of Solution : 16,666...

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Lack of Structured Approach

Problem (High School):

What does it happen when you

mix together sulphuric acid and

calcium hydroxide?

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Lack of Structured Approach

Type of Problem: chemical Model of problem: H2SO4 + Ca(OH)2

Tool: Laws of Chemistry Model of Solution: CaSO4 + 2 H2O

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Lack of Structured Approach

Answer: calcium sulphate and water

Specific

Problem

General Model

of the Problem

General Model

of the Solution

Specific

Solution

Analysis and Abstraction

General Instruments

Solution Generation

Type of Problem: chemical Model of problem: H2SO4 + Ca(OH)2

Tool: Laws of Chemistry Model of Solution: CaSO4 + 2 H2O

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Conflicts and Trade-Offs

Requirement 1 R

equ

irem

ent

2

or compromise…

Optimal solution…

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Theory of Inventive Problem Solving

• 99% of inventions use already known solution principle

• Less than 1% are really pioneering inventions

• Breakthrough solutions emerge from resolving contradictions

• Inventors and strong thinkers use patterns

• Creative problem solving patterns are universal

• Creative ideas can be produced in a systematic way

Genrich Altshuller (1926-1998)

Analysis of hundreds of thousands

inventive solutions

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Theory of Inventive Problem Solving

• The architecture of TRIZ is based on:

– Three Postulates:

• Postulate of Objective Laws of Systems Evolution

• Postulate of Contradiction

• Postulate of Specific Situation

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Theory of Inventive Problem Solving

• Laws of Engineering Systems Evolution

• Conclusions for practice:

– Good solutions are developed in accordance with the objective laws of system evolution

Laws of Technical System Evolution

1 Law of System Completeness

Corollary: Controllability

Trend of elimination of human

involvement from systems

Trend of increasing dynamicity

2 Law of “energy conductivity”

of a system

3 Law of harmonizing the

rhythms of parts of the system

Sta

tic

4 Law of increasing ideality

5 Law of uneven development

of the parts of a system

6 Law of transition to a super-

system

Trend Mono-Bi-Poly

Kin

em

atic

s

7 Law of Transition from macro

to micro level

8 Law of increasing Su-Field

inyteractions

Dyn

am

ics

TRIZ Laws

Solution Space

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Theory of Inventive Problem Solving

1. Law of System Completeness

In order to deliver its function, a Technical System must include, internally or externally (e.g., through the contribution of a human operator), four elements:

•a Tool, which is the working element delivering the function of the TS, i.e., exerting a certain effect on its object;

•an Engine, i.e., the element providing the energy necessary to produce the expected effect of the function;

•a Transmission, i.e., the element transmitting energy from the Engine to the Tool;

•a Control, i.e., an element governing at least one of the previous elements.

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Theory of Inventive Problem Solving

Control

Engine Transmission Tool

Ob

ject

En

vin

ron

me

nt

(Su

pp

ly)

Envinronment

System

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Theory of Inventive Problem Solving

1. Law of System Completeness (corollary)

Control

Engine Transmission Tool

Ob

ject

En

vin

ron

me

nt

(Su

pp

ly)

Envinronment

System

Corollary: technical systems evolve by integrating all the elements of the Minimal Technical System in order to reduce human involvement

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Theory of Inventive Problem Solving

Patterns of Engineering Systems Evolution (8 Laws, 76 Standards)

TRANSMISSION

TOOL TOOL

TRANSMISSION

TOOL

ENGINE

TRANSMISSION

ENGINE

CONTROL

TOOL

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Law of Increasing the Degree of Ideality

Wave of Evolution: Expenses to create value and deliver functionality (material, energy, labor, information)

Time

S-Curve of Evolution: Degree of the system’s performance (main function)

Adding Functionality Creating Functionality Preserving Functionality

Mature system

Convolution

(Ideality growth) A system is born Expansion

CostsfunctionsHarmful

functionsUsefulI

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Law of increasing the degree of ideality

Evolution Convolution

Wave of Evolution: Expenses to create value and deliver functionality (material, energy, labor, information)

Time

S-Curve of Evolution: Degree of the system’s performance (main function)

Adding Functionality Creating Functionality Preserving Functionality

Mature system

Convolution

(Ideality growth) A system is born Expansion

CostsfunctionsHarmful

functionsUsefulI

-

-

-

-

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Evaluation Par. 1

Eva

lua

tio

n P

ar.

2

System

Requiremen

ts CP:1

CP = CONTROL

PARAMETER

EP: 1

EP1 = EVALUATION

PARAMETER 1

EP: 2

EP2 = EVALUATION

PARAMETER 2

Theory of Inventive Problem Solving Теория Решения Изобретательских Задач Contradictions

• System evolution implies the resolution of contradictions, i.e. conflicts between a system and its environment or between the components of the system itself

• Conclusions for practice:

– To solve a problem we should first discover underlying contradictions

– To achieve maximum benefits, contradictions should be resolved, not compromised

– Overcoming contradictions is a driving force behind technology evolution. Resolving contradictions instead of compromising or optimizing, results in breakthrough solutions

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CP:1

CP = CONTROL

PARAMETER

EP: 1

EP1 = EVALUATION

PARAMETER 1

EP: 2

EP2 = EVALUATION

PARAMETER 2

“Technical” Contd:

TC1: EP1(+) – EP2(-)

TC2: EP2(+) – EP1(-)

“Physical” Contd:

CP = V EP1(+) – EP2(-)

CP = anti-V EP1(+) – EP2(-)

EP(+) = improves

EP(-) = worsens

Theory of Inventive Problem Solving

Теория Решения Изобретательских Задач Contradictions

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Theory of Inventive Problem Solving

Теория Решения Изобретательских Задач

System evolution implies the resolution of contradictions (7 Strategies, 40 Inventive Principles)

Comfort to insert the thread Evaluation Par. 1

Evalu

ation P

ar. 2

System

Requirements

Problems from different domains, sharing

the same contradiction, can be solved by

means of the same solving principles

Dynamization

Fabric integrity

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Theory of Inventive Problem Solving

Теория Решения Изобретательских Задач System evolution implies the resolution of contradictions (7 Strategies, 40 Inventive Principles)

Evaluation Par. 1

Evalu

ation P

ar. 2

System

Requirements

Problems from different domains, sharing

the same contradiction, can be solved by

means of the same solving principles

Dynamization

Ease of transportion

Protection

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Theory of Inventive Problem Solving

Теория Решения Изобретательских Задач

• Do you face any contradiction when you design your products or

services?

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Specific Situation - Resources

• Each stage of evolution of a system takes place in a specific environment (context, situation) which influences the evolution (transformation) of the system and provide specific resources

• Conclusions for practice:

– Good solutions must (first of all) take into account the resources available in the specific situation

Material

Resources

Information

Resources

Spatial

Resources:

Time Resources

Energy

Resources

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Specific Situation - Resources

Example:

Sparkling water bottles can be thin and simply shaped compared to still

water bottles thanks to the CO2 pressure.

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Tools available for your SME

• 5 Animations

– TRIZ History

– Nina @ school/university/work

– Theory of Inventive Problem Solving

• Handbook

If you want to know more:

http://www.tetris-project.org/

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Getting Inspiration from Nature

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Getting Inspiration from Nature

Cockleburs -> Velcro® In 1941 his inventor, Georges de Mestral, “went on a walk with his dog... Upon his return home, he noticed that his dog's coat and his pants were covered with cockleburs. His [...] curiosity led him to study the burs under a microscope, where he discovered their natural hook-like shape”. From this observation de Mestral creates the “two-sided fastener - one side with stiff "hooks" like the burrs and the other side with the soft "loops" like the fabric of his pants”.

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Tools for your SME

perform ventilation

http://www.asknature.org/

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Getting Inspiration from Nature

Strategy 1. Ventilated nests remove heat and gas: termites "The outside of this ovoid bunker is perforated by a series of vents or

tubes (or vents converging on circumferential tubes giving rise to more vents, or an arrangement even more elaborate); the structure of these

vents and tubes is so unique that...

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Getting Inspiration from Nature

Product 1. Upper Riccarton Community and School Library Warren and Mahoney Limited architects designed the Upper Riccarton Community and School Library located in Christchurch, New Zealand. The library was completed in 2006. The library enclosure is passively

ventilated, and uses environmentally sustainable materials.

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Thank you for your attention

www.designforenterprises.eu #Design4Enterprises

Design – Tool of Management

Design for problem solving

gaetano.cascini@polimi.it