126Frameworks for Thinking

8.Trimming is the process of reducing the parts of a solution. Having been given an existing solution or devised one, trimming is used to reduce its elements and make those left work to maximum effect.

9.IFR refers to the Ideal Final Result, described above. Having identified it in the Problem Exploration, it may point the way to solutions that are better than at present. It also serves to narrow the search space to what is manageable and potentially productive.

10.Psychological Inertia (PI) may impede changes in thought. Four ways of breaking out of PI are offered: the nine-windows tool; Smart Little People; a Size–Time–Interface–Cost Tool; and Why– What’s Stopping Analysis. The first of these draws thinking away from the present and the system to the past, future, subsystem and supersystem. The second reconstructs the problem in terms of Little People and uses their behaviour as an analogy to suggest other ways of doing things. The third takes the size and time both to infinity and to zero and asks what happens. The last asks ‘Why do I want to solve this problem? And ‘What’s stopping me solving this problem?’

11.Subversion analysis considers matters of reliability.

Solution evaluation

Ways of analysing various qualitative and quantitative aspects of the solution are described.

Evaluation

First and foremost, TRIZ is a practical project, with an empirical basis in Altshuller’s throughgoing analytic study of successful patents. While it includes a theory of how technology develops through resolving contradictions and is capable of predicting trends, it is primarily a structured set of techniques for use in designing products. Some of the techniques are psychological in nature, as they are a means of avoiding mental inertia by adopting a different strategy or perspective.

TRIZ is distinctive because it uses the study of historical information to indicate evolutionary trends and to predict the likely nature of solutions. It is also especially worthy of note because it is a generic problem-solving framework which seeks to draw on, relate and apply knowledge from different disciplines (e.g. biology, chemistry, engineering and physics). It is not unusual for important inventions to draw on knowledge from outside the particular industry within which they are applied, and sometimes from several sciences.

The idea that one can learn how to extract a core of a problem and then generalise it is a powerful one. It means that reasoning can take place at a higher level of abstraction than if the focus of attention is on the specifics of a situated problem. The use of a structured set of tools and well-proven procedures means that effort is not wasted in the divergent generation of useless ideas through brainstorming or free association. Similarly, by thinking about a problem in generic terms, focusing on an ideal final result at the early stage of problem definition and then using TRIZ tools, mental effort can be directed towards generating solutions instead of arguing about what constitutes an appropriate strategic plan.

Altshuller’s approach is a challenge to popular conceptions of creativity, in that he suggests that in most cases good design is simply a matter of using a known solution in a novel way. Instead of relying on trial-and- error methods, creativity can be enhanced through the systematic study of general patterns and trends in previous design solutions. If he is right, there are enormous implications for the way in which design is taught, not only in science and technology, but across the curriculum.

TRIZ is an ongoing project, although mature enough to be useful. There is a TRIZ Journal, a range of books (e.g. published by CREAX), websites and software. TRIZ offers a structured way of working in the practical problem-solving field and elsewhere. In 1974 Altshuller prepared TRIZ courses for high school students (the material subsequently translated in Altshuller, 1999). Salamatov (1999) claims that TRIZ can be mastered readily by anyone, but in our judgment it takes time and perseverance and in its original form requires a foundation in science and technology.