Introduction 1
About This Book 2
Foolish Assumptions 3
Icons Used in This Book 3
Beyond the Book 4
Where to Go from Here 4
Part I: Getting Started with TRIZ 5
Chapter 1: Going from Zero to TRIZ 7
Getting to Know TRIZ 8
Increasing Ideality 8
Uncovering patterns in human creativity 10
Learning to think in the abstract 11
Connecting conceptual thinking with your knowledge and experience 13
Going beyond your own experience 14
Thinking functionally 15
Starting Your TRIZ Journey 16
Getting a handle on the TRIZ tools 16
Reapplying proven knowledge to deliver innovative new solutions 17
Modelling problems conceptually 19
Supercharging your thinking 20
Mastering TRIZ 22
Putting the tools together in the TRIZ problem-solving process 22
Innovating with others by sharing solutions 24
Cultivating the motivation for innovation 24
Being humble and looking like a genius 26
Chapter 2: Understanding the Fundamental TRIZ Philosophy 27
Thinking TRIZ 28
Picturing TRIZ's beginnings 28
Standing on the shoulders of giants - or reinventing the wheel? 29
Understanding the TRIZ Philosophy 30
Learning to think conceptually 30
Reapplying proven knowledge to solve problems 32
Getting everything you want without changing anything 34
Developing confidence 35
Being Systematic and Creative 36
Using TRIZ processes for understanding and solving problems 36
Thinking freely 37
Challenging assumptions 37
Part II: Opening Your TRIZ Toolbox 39
Chapter 3: Solving Contradictions with the 40 Inventive Principles 41
Uncovering and Understanding Unresolved Conflicts 41
Spotting contradictions and seeing how they're resolved 42
Understanding the two types of contradiction 44
Reapplying other people's genius solutions 44
Solving Technical Contradictions 46
Improving imperfect solutions with a little help from your friends 48
Using the Contradiction Matrix 48
Getting to Grips with Physical Contradictions 53
Resolving Physical Contradictions 54
Clever Tricks to Outsmart Contradictions: Using the 40 Inventive Principles 56
Applying the 40 Inventive Principles to real problems 56
Digging for buried treasure in the right places 58
Chapter 4: Applying the Trends of Technical Evolution 61
Looking More Closely at the Trends 62
Discovering the 8 Trends 65
Charting future product directions 69
Achieving a system's ultimate destiny 73
Applying the Trends 74
Listening to the voice of the product 75
Using the Trends to develop a next-generation system 76
Moving systems forward and knowing when to go back 78
Applying the Trends More Generally 79
Increasing Ideality 79
Transition to the Super-System 79
Increasing System Coordination 79
S-Curves 80
Using the Trends to Create Strong Patents 80
Strengthening and ring-fencing your own patents 80
Leapfrogging competitors' technology 81
Chapter 5: Improving Ideality by Using Resources 83
Understanding the Ideality Equation: How TRIZ Defines Value 84
Defining benefits 84
Defining costs 86
Defining downsides 86
Putting the Ideality Equation together 87
Understanding the Links Between Benefits, Functions and Solutions 89
Thinking Resourcefully 90
Understanding resources and where to find them 91
Learning how to hunt for resources 92
Getting what you want using what you have 95
Embedding resource thinking into everyday life 96
Chapter 6: Using the TRIZ Effects Database 99
Thinking Innovatively with the Prism of TRIZ 100
Taking out unnecessary detail 100
Reapplying clever solutions in new and exciting ways 102
Making new connections between existing technologies 104
Using the Database of Scientific Effects 105
Learning to look for what you want 105
Applying the Effects Database to solve problems 106
Strategies for analogous searching 109
Inventing with TRIZ 110
Matching needs and systems 110
Uncovering unmet needs 113
Applying existing technologies to create novel inventions 114
Part III: Thinking Like a Genius 117
Chapter 7: Breaking Psychological Inertia with the TRIZ Creativity Tools 119
Recognising Psychological Inertia 120
Appreciating the Benefits of Psychological Inertia 122
Beating Psychological Inertia 124
Why bad solutions are a good idea 124
Using the 13 TRIZ tools for creative thinking 125
Understanding and Solving Problems Using Smart Little People 127
Modelling problems and solutions conceptually 128
Breaking out of practical thinking 129
Bringing wacky ideas back to reality 130
Stretching Your Thinking with Size-Time-Cost 132
Restructuring your view of what's possible 133
Finding inventive solutions 134
Chapter 8: Thinking in Time and Scale 137
Stretching Your Thinking in Time and Scale 137
Remembering to stretch yourself 140
Considering whether 9 boxes are really enough 141
Thinking big and thinking small 142
Looking at your situation with new eyes 143
Understanding Problems in Time and Scale 144
Recognising the importance of the big picture 145
Mapping causes of problems and hazards 145
Thinking strategically: Predicting future opportunities and threats 145
Finding Novel Solutions in Time and Scale 148
Locating inventive times and places to solve a problem 148
Covering the waterfront by finding all possible solutions 149
Learning to Think in Time and Scale 151
Chapter 9: Living in Utopia (then Coming Back to Reality) 153
Defining the Ideal Outcome 153
Locating your North Star: Setting your problem-solving direction 154
Outlining benefits as a team 154
Striving for perfection with the Ideal Outcome, Prime Benefit and Ultimate Goal 156
Setting your constraints 158
Considering stakeholders: Don't be afraid to ask your customers 159
Taking a Step Towards Reality with Ideal Systems 160
Thinking of what you want and then getting it 160
Using 9 Boxes to define your Ideal System 161
Using divergent thinking with Ideal Functions 162
Making Sensible Decisions by Considering All Benefits, Costs and Harms 163
From perfection to reality: Defining the Ideality you want 164
Learning to compare apples and pears 165
Thinking about the unthinkable: Managing risk 166
Chapter 10: Problem Solving and Being Creative with Others 167
Going for What You Really Want 167
Thinking in Extremes 170
Challenging constraints: Real or imagined? 170
Restructuring problems and solutions 173
Thinking crazily (while being practical) 173
Being Persistent in the Face of Failure 175
Improving imperfect solutions 175
Fixing things when something's gone wrong 177
Knowing when to stop 178
Sharing and Developing Ideas with Other People 178
Recognising why bad solutions are a good idea 179
Seeing the flaws in your own solutions 180
Learning to love other people's solutions 181
Capturing, sharing and combining solutions 181
Creating a climate for innovation 182
Part IV: Understanding, Defining and Solving Difficult Problems with TRIZ 185
Chapter 11: Applying the TRIZ Problem-Solving Process 187
Logically and Systematically Solving Problems 187
Trusting the process (and yourself) 188
Making big leaps by taking small steps 189
Developing your own problem-solving map 189
Climbing the Problem-Solving Steps 191
Understanding the overall process 191
Sharpening the axe 193
Knowing your needs and scoping the situation 195
Defining your problem correctly 195
Generating Solutions 196
Expecting the unexpected 196
Applying the TRIZ solution tools 197
Ranking and Developing Solutions 198
Developing solutions further 198
Ranking solutions by Ideality 199
Converging by concept 200
Solving Difficult Problems Effectively in a Team 201
Gaining team understanding and consensus 201
Converging and diverging 201
Thinking fast and thinking slow 202
Putting solutions into practice 203
Chapter 12: Getting to Grips with Your Problems with Function Analysis 205
Making Complex Problems Simple 205
Understanding the building blocks of Function Analysis 207
Defining interactions: The good, the bad and the ugly 208
Charting all parts of your system and beyond 210
Building a Function Analysis Diagram 212
Completing a Function Analysis 212
Listing your components and their interactions 212
Drawing a Function Map 213
Listing, prioritising and solving problems 213
Uncovering Conflicts: Putting Contradictions in Context 214
Understanding How Everything Fits Together 215
Using Function Analysis 216
Modelling difficult problems 217
Gaining the confidence required to change things 218
Achieving clarity in complex situations 220
Communicating effectively 220
Chapter 13: Solving Problems using the TRIZ Standard Solutions 223
Defining a Subject-action-Object 223
Categorising Problems 225
Dealing with Harmful Actions 226
Improving Insufficient Actions 228
Measuring and Detecting 228
Applying the Standard Solutions 231
Developing a well-formulated problem 231
Solving problems outlined in a Function Analysis 232
Generating innovative solutions 233
Tackling a real problem 235
Improving a solution 237
Chapter 14: Trimming for Elegant, Low-Cost Solutions 241
Making Things Better and Cheaper 241
Improving systems by removing stuff 242
Clever cost-cutting: Doing more with less 245
Using resources wisely 247
Creating Elegant Solutions 248
Applying the Trimming Rules 248
Following the process and going off-piste 252
Trimming to Infinity and Beyond 252
Trimming to Create Strong Intellectual Property 254
Getting round someone else's patent 254
Developing your own patent further 255
Part V: The Part of Tens 257
Chapter 15: Ten Pitfalls to Avoid 259
Thinking TRIZ Doesn't Apply to You 259
Waiting for the 'Right' Problem 260
Starting Too Big 260
Tackling Problems for Which You Can't Implement Solutions 261
Tackling Problems without Involving the Problem Owner 261
Trying to Solve Problems When You Don't Understand the Issue or the Technology 262
Trying to Solve Problems When You Lack Crucial Knowledge 262
Working on a Problem That's Already Been Solved 263
Undertaking TRIZ by Stealth 263
Giving Up Too Soon 264
Chapter 16: Ten Tips for Getting Started with TRIZ 265
Learn It 265
Use It 266
Start Small 266
Attend a Workshop 266
Think and Talk TRIZ 267
Find a Friend 267
Fail Safely 268
Be Bold 268
Fail Better 269
Reflect 269
Part VI: Appendixes 271
Appendix A: The 40 Inventive Principles 273
Inventive Principle 1: Segmentation 273
Inventive Principle 2: Taking Out 274
Inventive Principle 3: Local Quality 274
Inventive Principle 4: Asymmetry 275
Inventive Principle 5: Merging 275
Inventive Principle 6: Multi-Function 275
Inventive Principle 7: Nested Doll 276
Inventive Principle 8: Counterweight 276
Inventive Principle 9: Prior Counteraction 276
Inventive Principle 10: Prior Action 277
Inventive Principle 11: Cushion in Advance 277
Inventive Principle 12: Equal Potential 277
Inventive Principle 13: The Other Way Round 278
Inventive Principle 14: Spheres and Curves 278
Inventive Principle 15: Dynamism 279
Inventive Principle 16: Partial or Excessive Action 279
Inventive Principle 17: Another Dimension 279
Inventive Principle 18: Mechanical Vibration 280
Inventive Principle 19: Periodic Action 280
Inventive Principle 20: Continuous Useful Action 281
Inventive Principle 21: Rushing Through 281
Inventive Principle 22: Blessing in Disguise 281
Inventive Principle 23: Feedback 282
Inventive Principle 24: Intermediary 282
Inventive Principle 25: Self-service 283
Inventive Principle 26: Copying 283
Inventive Principle 27: Cheap, Short-Living Objects 284
Inventive Principle 28: Replace Mechanical System 284
Inventive Principle 29: Pneumatics and Hydraulics 285
Inventive Principle 30: Flexible Membranes and Thin Films 285
Inventive Principle 31: Porous Materials 285
Inventive Principle 32: Colour Change 286
Inventive Principle 33: Uniform Material 286
Inventive Principle 34: Discarding and Recovering 287
Inventive Principle 35: Parameter Change 287
Inventive Principle 36: Phase Changes 288
Inventive Principle 37: Thermal Expansion 289
Inventive Principle 38: Boosted Interactions 289
Inventive Principle 39: Inert Atmosphere 290
Inventive Principle 40: Composite Structures 290
Appendix B: The Contradiction Matrix 291
Appendix C: The 39 Parameters of the Contradiction Matrix 293
Appendix D: The Separation Principles 299
Appendix E: The Oxford TRIZ Standard Solutions 301
Solutions for Dealing with Harms 302
H1 Trim out the harm 302
H2 Block the harm 303
H3 Turn the harm into good 304
H4 Correct the harm 304
Solutions for Improving Insufficiency 305
i1 Add something to the subject or object 305
i2 Evolve the subject and object 306
i.a Improve the action 307
Solutions for Detection and Measurement 308
M1 Indirect methods 309
M2 Add something 309
M3 Enhance measurement with fields 309
M4 Use additives with fields 310
M5 Evolve the measurement system 310
Index 311
