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A powerful methodology for creative problem-solving By Katie Barry, Ellen Domb and Michael S Slocum
Projects of all kinds frequently reach a point
where as much analysis as possible has been carried out, but the
way forward is still unclear. Progress seems blocked, and if the
project team is to move forward, it must develop creative
solutions to the problems it faces.
You'll already know about techniques such as
brainstorming, which can help with this sort of situation.
However, this type of approach, which depends on intuition and the
knowledge of the members of the team, tends to have unpredictable
and unrepeatable results. What's more, a huge range of possible
solutions can be missed, simply because they're outside the
experience of the project team.
TRIZ is a problem solving methodology based on logic, data and
research, not intuition. It draws on the past knowledge and
ingenuity of many thousands of engineers to accelerate the project
team's ability to solve problems creatively. As such, TRIZ brings
repeatability, predictability, and reliability to the
problem-solving process with its structured and algorithmic
approach.
About TRIZ
"TRIZ" is the (Russian) acronym for the
"Theory of Inventive Problem Solving." G.S. Altshuller and his
colleagues in the former USSR developed the method between 1946
and 1985. TRIZ is an international science of creativity that
relies on the study of the patterns of problems and solutions, not
on the spontaneous and intuitive creativity of individuals or
groups. More than three million patents have been analyzed to
discover the patterns that predict breakthrough solutions to
problems, and these have been codified within TRIZ.
TRIZ is spreading into corporate use across several parallel paths
- it is increasingly common in Six Sigma processes, in project
management and risk management systems, and in organizational
innovation initiatives.
Generalized Solutions
TRIZ research began with the hypothesis that there are universal
principles of creativity that are the basis for creative
innovations, and that advance technology. The idea was that if
these principles could be identified and codified, they could be
taught to people to make the process of creativity more
predictable. The short version of this is:
Somebody someplace has already solved this problem (or one very
similar to it.)
Today, creativity involves finding that solution and adapting it
to this particular problem.
The three primary findings of the last 65 years of research are as
follows:
Problems and solutions are repeated across industries and
sciences. By classifying the "contradictions" (see later) in each
problem, you can predict good creative solutions to that problem.
Patterns of technical evolution tend to be repeated across
industries and sciences.
Creative innovations often use scientific effects outside the
field where they were developed.
Much of the practice of TRIZ consists of learning these repeating
patterns of problems-solutions, patterns of technical evolution
and methods of using scientific effects, and then applying the
general TRIZ patterns to the specific situation that confronts the
developer. Figure 1, below, describes this process graphically.
Here, you take the specific problem you face, and generalize it to
one of the TRIZ general problems. From the TRIZ general problems,
you identify the TRIZ solutions to those general problems, and
then see how these can be applied to the specific problem you
face.
Example
A powerful demonstration of this method was seen in the
pharmaceutical industry. Following the flow of Figure 1, the
specific problem was as follows: an important process needed cell
walls to be broken down in bacteria cells so that hormones inside
the cells could be harvested. A mechanical method for breaking the
cell walls had been in use at a moderate scale for some time, but
the yield was only 80%, and was variable. Higher yields and a
scaleable solution were needed.
The TRIZ general problem at the highest level is to find a way to
produce the product with no waste, at 100% yield, with no added
complexity. One of the patterns of evolution of technology that
TRIZ identifies is that energy (fields) replaces objects
(mechanical devices). For example, consider using a laser instead
of a scalpel for eye surgery. In this case, ultrasound could be
used to break the cell walls, or an enzyme could be used to "eat"
it (chemical energy). This may seem very general, but it led the
pharmaceutical researchers to analyze all the resources available
in the problem (the cells, the cell walls, the fluid they are in,
the motion of the fluid, the processing facility, etc.) and to
conclude that three possible solutions had a good potential for
solving their problem:
The cell walls could be broken by sound waves (from the pattern
of evolution of replacing mechanical means by fields).
The cell walls could be broken by shearing, as they pass
through the processing facility (using the resources of the
existing system in a different way).
An enzyme in the fluid could "eat" the cell walls and release
the contents at the desired time.
All three methods have been tested successfully. The least
expensive, highest yield method was soon put in production.
Eliminating contradictions
Another of the fundamental concepts behind TRIZ is that at the
root of many problems is a fundamental contradiction that causes
it (we'll give examples below.) In many cases, a reliable way of
solving a problem is to eliminate these contradictions. TRIZ
recognizes two categories of contradictions:
Technical contradictions are classical engineering
"trade-offs." The desired state can't be reached because something
else in the system prevents it. In other words, when something
gets better, something else automatically gets worse. Classical
examples include:
The product gets stronger (good), but the weight increases
(bad).
Service is customized to each customer (good), but the service
delivery system gets complicated (bad).
Training is comprehensive (good), but keeps employees away from
their assignments (bad).
Physical contradictions, also called "inherent" contradictions,
are situations in which an object or system suffers contradictory,
opposite requirements. Everyday examples abound:
Software should be complex (to have many features), but should
be simple (to be easy to learn).
Coffee should be hot for enjoyable drinking, but cold to prevent
burning the customer
Training should take a long time (to be thorough), but not take
any time.
Example
Dairy farm operators could no longer dry cow manure for use as
fertilizer due to an increased cost of energy. They were faced
with a technical contradiction between dry manure (good) and cost
(bad). TRIZ led the operators to a drying method used for the
concentration of fruit juice, which required no heat.
Some of the TRIZ Tools:
The "General TRIZ Solutions" referred to in Figure 1 have been
developed over the course of the 65 years of TRIZ research, and
have been organized in many different ways. Some of these are
analytic methods such as:
The Ideal Final Result and Ideality
Functional Modeling, Analysis and Trimming
Locating the Zones of Conflict. (This is more familiar to Six
Sigma problem solvers as "Root Cause Analysis.")
Some are more prescriptive such as:
The 40 Inventive Principles of Problem Solving
The Separation Principles
Laws of Technical Evolution and Technology Forecasting
76 Standard Solutions.
In the course of solving any one technical problem, one tool or
many can be used.
One of these tools, "The 40 Principles of Problem Solving" is the
most accessible "tool" of TRIZ.
The 40 Principles of Problem Solving:
These 40 Principles are the ones that were found to repeat across
many fields, as solutions to many general contradictions, which
are at the heart of many problems. A list of all 40 Principles of
Problem Solving can be found at
http://www.triz-journal.com/archives/1997/07/b/index.html.
Here are just a few of the Principles and examples of how they
could have been used to create products that were once new and
innovative:
Principle
Solution
Segmentation (Divide an object into
independent parts)
Individually wrapped cheese slices
Local quality (Provide different
packaging for different uses)
"Adult" editions of Harry Potter
books
Universality (make an object
perform multiple functions)
Chocolate spread sold in glasses
(with a lid) that can be used for drinking afterwards
Nested Doll
Store within store (coffee shops in
bookstores)
Another dimension (Tilt or
re-orient object)
Squeezable ketchup bottles that sit
on their lids
Using TRIZ
The best way to learn and explore TRIZ is to
identify a problem that you haven't solved satisfactorily and try
it. Use the List of the 40 Principles of Problem Solving and the
Contradiction Matrix tool that can be found at
www.triz-journal.com to help you through the process.
Material for this article has been provided by a team of experts
from the TRIZ Journal:
Katie Barry, Editor,
Ellen Domb, PhD, Managing Editor, and Michael S Slocum,
PhD, Managing Editor.
We welcome appropriate reprinting and reuse of Mind Tools material,
however, you must
get our permission first!
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