#3716 TRIZ Methods
#3716 TRIZ Methods
#3716 Provide a concise description of TRIZ nine screen approach
The TRIZ nine-screen approach, also known as the "System Operator," is a structured thinking tool that helps you analyze a problem or system from multiple perspectives by considering its place in both time and space.
The Nine Screens
The tool is organized as a 3x3 grid, creating nine "screens" or viewpoints for analysis.
The Vertical Axis (Space/Hierarchy): This axis breaks the system down into its structural levels.
Supersystem: The larger environment or system that the main system interacts with or is a part of.
System: The current system or problem you are focusing on.
Subsystem: The individual components, parts, or elements that make up the system.
The Horizontal Axis (Time): This axis examines the system across its lifecycle.
Past: The state of the system, its components, and its environment before the current situation.
Present: The current state of the system.
Future: The desired or potential state of the system after a solution is implemented.
How It Works
To use the nine-screen approach, you fill in each of the nine boxes with descriptions, questions, or ideas. You start with the central "System-Present" box and then expand outwards.
For example, if your System is a "coffee mug," your analysis would look something like this:
By filling out the grid, you systematically explore the system's evolution, its components' functions, and its relationship with the surrounding environment over time. This process helps identify hidden resources, contradictions, and pathways for innovation that you might otherwise miss.
Provide a concise description of TRIZ smart little people model
The TRIZ Smart Little People model is a creative problem-solving technique that helps you understand and resolve complex issues by personifying the elements of a system. Instead of thinking about abstract forces or components, you imagine tiny, intelligent beings—"smart little people"—performing the necessary functions. 🧠
This method is designed to break psychological inertia, allowing you to look at a problem from a completely new perspective. By considering what these "little people" would need to do, feel, or experience to achieve a desired outcome, you can uncover non-obvious solutions.
How It Works
The process involves modeling the problem by replacing objects and fields with groups of imaginary people. You then ask questions about their behavior and interactions to solve a contradiction or improve a function.
Personify the System: Imagine the objects, substances, or fields involved in your problem are made up of teams of smart little people. For example, a solid object is a group of people holding hands tightly, while a gas is made of people running around randomly.
Describe the Conflict: Explain the problem from the perspective of these people. What are they trying to do? What is stopping them? What conflicting instructions are they receiving?
Brainstorm Solutions: Give the little people instructions or new abilities to resolve the conflict. Ask, "What would this group of people have to do to achieve the desired result?" Their actions become the basis for a real-world solution.
For instance, to understand how a surface can be both sticky and non-sticky (a physical contradiction), you could imagine little people on the surface. To make it sticky, they could extend their hands to grab things. To make it non-sticky, they could retract their hands. This leads to the real-world solution of a surface with a changeable texture, like micro-needles that can extend and retract.
Why It's Useful
The primary benefit of the Smart Little People model is its ability to simplify complex physical or chemical interactions into relatable human actions.
Overcomes Mental Blocks: It forces you to step away from conventional thinking and technical jargon.
Clarifies Contradictions: It makes it easier to visualize and resolve the core contradictions within a problem.
Fosters Empathy: By "becoming" part of the system, you can intuitively grasp its functions and failures.
Generates Novel Ideas: The freedom to imagine what these people could do often leads to breakthrough concepts that can be translated back into practical, inventive solutions. 💡
This video explains how TRIZ, including creative tools like the Smart Little People model, can help inventors overcome challenges.
Provide a concise description of TRIZ 40 inventive principles
The TRIZ 40 Inventive Principles are a set of universal problem-solving strategies that serve as a core component of the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ). They were developed by Soviet inventor Genrich Altshuller after analyzing over 200,000 patents. He discovered that the same fundamental solutions were used repeatedly across different fields of technology to solve similar inventive problems.💡
These principles are designed to resolve technical contradictions, which occur when improving one feature of a system causes another to worsen. For example, making a car's frame stronger (an improvement) often makes it heavier (a worsening). Instead of accepting a trade-off, the 40 Principles provide pathways to an ideal solution where both conflicting parameters are satisfied.
How They Work
The 40 principles are often used with the Contradiction Matrix, another TRIZ tool. To use them:
Identify the Contradiction: Define the two conflicting characteristics of your system (e.g., strength vs. weight, speed vs. accuracy).
Generalize the Problem: Match these characteristics to the 39 generalized engineering parameters defined in TRIZ.
Find Recommended Principles: Look up the intersection of the improving feature and the worsening feature in the Contradiction Matrix. The matrix will suggest which of the 40 principles are most likely to resolve that specific type of contradiction.
Apply the Principles: Brainstorm solutions based on the suggestions.
Examples of Inventive Principles
While there are 40 principles in total, here are a few examples to illustrate the concept:
1. Segmentation
Description: Divide an object or system into independent, smaller, or modular parts.
Example: A tape measure is flexible because it's made of many small, connected segments. Venetian blinds use segmentation to control light.
7. "Nested Doll" (Matryoshka)
Description: Place one object inside another, which can be placed inside a third, and so on.
Example: Russian nesting dolls are the classic illustration. In technology, this is seen in retractable antennas, measuring cups, and zoom lenses.
10. Preliminary Action (Prior Action)
Description: Perform a required action in advance, either fully or partially.
Example: Pre-pasted wallpaper already has the adhesive applied. Surgical kits come with all necessary instruments pre-sterilized and arranged for a procedure.
22. "Blessing in Disguise" (Turn Lemon into Lemonade)
Description: Use harmful factors or effects to achieve a positive result.
Example: Using waste heat from a manufacturing process to generate electricity. Adding unpleasant-smelling mercaptan to natural gas (which is odorless) to easily detect dangerous leaks.
By providing a systematic framework based on proven inventive patterns, the 40 Principles help innovators move beyond conventional thinking and develop creative, effective solutions to technical challenges. 🚀
Provide a concise description of TRIZ 76 inventive standards
The TRIZ 76 Inventive Standards are a set of specific, structured solutions for complex technical problems. They function as a more advanced tool than the 40 Inventive Principles, offering concrete instructions for system modification rather than general strategic advice.
These standards are built upon Substance-Field (Su-Field) Analysis, a TRIZ method that models a problem as a minimal working system. This model consists of two Substances (S1 and S2) and a Field (F) that represents the interaction between them. The 76 standards provide a systematic guide for building, improving, or breaking down these Su-Field models to achieve a desired outcome. ⚛️
How They Work
Instead of resolving a high-level contradiction (like strength vs. weight), the 76 Standards address problems at a more fundamental level. You first model your problem as a Su-Field interaction and then identify if the interaction is insufficient, excessive, harmful, or missing. The standards then provide a targeted solution pattern.
For example, a basic Su-Field model for cutting paper would be:
S1: Paper
S2: Scissors
F: Mechanical Force
If the cutting is ineffective (an insufficient interaction), the standards would suggest specific ways to modify this system, such as introducing a new field or substance.
Organization of the Standards
The 76 standards are organized into five distinct classes, guiding the user from simple system modifications to complex transformations:
Class 1: Building and Destroying Su-Field Models: Provides rules for creating a functional system where one doesn't exist or for eliminating a harmful one.
Class 2: Developing Su-Field Models: Focuses on enhancing existing interactions that are insufficient or weak.
Class 3: Transition to Supersystem and Microlevel: Suggests solutions by moving to a higher-level system or by breaking the system down to its internal components (microlevel).
Class 4: Standards for Detection and Measurement: Offers specific strategies for problems related to detecting or measuring properties within a system.
Class 5: Strategies for Simplification and Improvement: Provides methods for applying the standards, often by using internal resources or simplifying the system towards ideality.
In essence, while the 40 Inventive Principles offer a "what to do" approach for resolving contradictions, the 76 Inventive Standards provide a more algorithmic "how to do it" guide for modifying the fundamental structure of a technical system. 🛠️
Provide a concise description of TRIZ Substance-Field (Su-Field) Analysis
Substance-Field (Su-Field) Analysis is a powerful analytical tool within the TRIZ methodology used to model and solve technical problems at a fundamental level. It represents any system as a minimalist structure consisting of two Substances and a Field, allowing you to visualize, classify, and systematically resolve the core issue.
This approach is particularly effective for solving problems that aren't easily defined as a direct contradiction, focusing instead on the interactions—or lack thereof—between a system's components.
The Core Components
A Su-Field model is a simple triad:
Substance 1 (S1): Typically, this is the object being acted upon or the product of the system (e.g., a screw, a piece of wood).
Substance 2 (S2): This is the "tool" or the substance that acts upon S1 (e.g., a screwdriver, a saw).
Field (F): This is the energy or force that enables the interaction between the two substances. Fields can be Mechanical, Acoustic, Thermal, Chemical, Electrical, or Magnetic (often remembered by the acronym MATCH-EM).
These components are typically drawn as a triangle to show their relationship.
How It Works
Model the System: You begin by identifying the two key substances and the field responsible for their interaction in your problem.
Classify the Model: Based on the interaction, Su-Field models are classified into four main types:
Complete Model: The system works as intended (S2 acts on S1 via F).
Incomplete Model: The interaction is missing or insufficient. For example, a required field is absent, or one of the substances is missing.
Harmful Model: The interaction produces a negative or damaging side effect.
Measurement Model: The goal is to detect or measure some aspect of the system.
Find a Solution: Once the problem is modeled and classified, you use the TRIZ 76 Inventive Standards to resolve it. The standards provide a structured, step-by-step guide for transforming the problematic Su-Field model into a functional one. For instance, if a model is incomplete because a field is missing, the standards will suggest specific ways to introduce a new field to complete the system.
For example, if you want to join two wooden blocks (S1 and S2) but have no way to do so, you have an incomplete model. The 76 Standards would guide you to introduce a new substance and a field—like adding glue (a new S3) and using a chemical field (adhesion) to create a complete and effective system.
By breaking a problem down into these three simple elements, Su-Field Analysis provides a clear, logical path to finding an inventive solution. ⚛️
Provide a concise description of TRIZ four principles of separation
The TRIZ four principles of separation are a set of foundational strategies used to solve physical contradictions. A physical contradiction occurs when an object or system needs to have opposite or conflicting properties, such as being both hot and cold, or strong and weak, at the same time.
These principles provide a framework for resolving such "impossible" requirements by separating the contradictory demands in different contexts. 💡
1. Separation in Time
This principle resolves a contradiction by having a system possess one property at one moment and the opposite property at another moment.
Concept: Do one thing now, and the opposite later.
Example: A flashing traffic light is both red (stop) and not red (go) by separating the states in time. A chameleon changes its color based on the immediate need for camouflage, being one color now and another later.
2. Separation in Space
This principle solves a contradiction by assigning one property to one part of an object and the opposite property to another part.
Concept: Have one property here, and the opposite there.
Example: A coffee mug is hot on the inside to keep the coffee warm but cool on the outside (at the handle) so it can be held. A pencil is sharp at one end (for writing) and soft at the other (the eraser).
3. Separation upon Condition
This principle resolves a contradiction by having a system behave one way under certain conditions and the opposite way under different conditions.
Concept: Be one way in this situation, and the opposite in another.
Example: Photochromic sunglasses are clear (transparent) indoors and dark (opaque) outdoors when exposed to UV light. A fire sprinkler is inactive under normal conditions but activates (sprays water) when the condition of high heat is met.
4. Separation between Parts and the Whole
Also known as separation between the micro-level and macro-level, this principle resolves a contradiction by having the individual parts of a system possess one property while the entire system as a whole exhibits the opposite.
Concept: The components have one property, but the overall system has another.
Example: A sandy beach is solid enough to walk on (macro-level), but it is composed of tiny, individual grains of sand (micro-level). A chain is flexible as a whole, but each individual link is rigid and strong.
Provide a concise description of TRIZ trends of engineering system evolution
The TRIZ Trends of Engineering System Evolution, also known as the Laws of System Evolution, are a set of eight predictable patterns that describe how technological systems naturally develop and improve over time. They were identified by TRIZ founder Genrich Altshuller through the analysis of millions of patents.
These trends act as a roadmap for innovation and forecasting. By understanding where a system currently stands on a particular evolutionary path, engineers and inventors can predict its next logical step, allowing them to skip intermediate stages and develop next-generation solutions more efficiently. 🚀
Key Trends of Evolution
While there are eight trends in total, the following are some of the most fundamental:
1. Increasing Ideality
This is the primary law of TRIZ. It states that all systems evolve to become more effective, with more benefits, fewer costs, and fewer harmful effects. The ultimate "Ideal System" is one that performs its function without actually existing.
Concept: Maximize function while minimizing the system's presence.
Example: The evolution of music players from large gramophones to bulky CD players, then to small MP3 players, and finally to streaming services (the function exists with almost no physical device).
2. Increasing Dynamization
Systems tend to evolve from rigid, immovable structures to become more flexible, movable, and adaptable.
Concept: Make the system and its parts more flexible and responsive.
Example: An aircraft wing evolving from a fixed structure to one with movable flaps and ailerons, and eventually to a "morphing wing" that can change its entire shape in flight.
3. Transition to the Micro-level
Systems evolve by shifting their working elements from the macro-level (visible objects) to the micro-level (powders, fields, atoms, molecules).
Concept: Solve problems using smaller, often invisible, elements.
Example: The evolution of cutting tools from a physical knife blade to a high-pressure water jet, and then to a precise laser beam.
4. Increasing Use of Fields
Systems tend to transition from relying on mechanical elements to using various forms of energy or "fields" (thermal, acoustic, magnetic, electrical, etc.) to perform their function.
Concept: Replace physical parts with energy fields.
Example: Moving from a mechanical doorbell that strikes a bell to an electronic one that uses an electrical field to generate a sound.
By applying these predictable patterns, innovators can anticipate future technological advancements and solve problems by consciously pushing a system along its natural evolutionary path.
Provide a concise description of TRIZ size-time-cost operator
The TRIZ Size-Time-Cost (STC) Operator is a multi-dimensional thinking tool that expands upon the classic nine-screen model to provide a more holistic analysis of a problem by integrating economic factors. It encourages you to consider a system not just from a technical perspective, but also from a business and value-oriented one.
Instead of a two-dimensional grid, the STC Operator is best visualized as a 3x3x3 cube, creating 27 different viewpoints from which to analyze a problem. 🧠
The Three Dimensions
Size (Hierarchy): This is the vertical axis, identical to the nine-screen model, which examines the system's structural context.
Supersystem: The larger environment the system operates in.
System: The main system or problem.
Subsystem: The components that make up the system.
Time: This is the horizontal axis, also from the nine-screen model, which looks at the system's lifecycle.
Past: The history and previous states.
Present: The current state.
Future: The potential or desired states.
Cost (The Third Dimension): This is the crucial addition. It forces an analysis of the economic aspects across all time and size scales. "Cost" here is interpreted broadly to include:
Direct Costs: Manufacturing, materials, labor, price.
Harmful Effects: Waste, pollution, inconvenience, negative side effects that add to the overall "cost" of the system.
How It Works
By using this 3D framework, you ask targeted questions for each of the 27 blocks. For example:
What was the cost of the subsystem in the past?
What is the harmful effect (cost) of the current system on the supersystem?
How can we reduce the cost of the subsystem in the future?
This systematic approach ensures that the financial and value implications of a potential solution are considered from the very beginning. It helps innovators identify not just technically brilliant solutions, but also ones that are profitable, efficient, and provide real value to the customer. 💰
Provide a concise description of TRIZ cause-effect chains analysis
Cause-Effect Chains Analysis is a TRIZ analytical tool used to drill down from a final, undesirable effect to the fundamental root cause of a problem. It's a logical, step-by-step method of linking a chain of causes and effects to uncover the core contradiction that needs to be solved.
The primary goal is to avoid "symptom-solving" by ensuring that the inventive effort is directed at the right problem. By repeatedly asking "Why does this happen?" you can trace a problem back to its origin.
How It Works
The process involves constructing a diagram or a logical chain that connects a series of events, starting with the main problem.
State the Initial Problem: Clearly define the primary negative or harmful effect you want to eliminate. This is the starting point of your chain.
Ask "Why?": Ask why this harmful effect occurs. The answer will be the immediate cause.
Chain the Causes: Treat this immediate cause as the new effect and ask "Why?" again. Continue this process of linking each effect to its preceding cause.
Identify the Root Cause: Continue the chain until you arrive at a cause that is a physical contradiction (e.g., an object must be hot and cold) or a "key" disadvantage—a fundamental problem that, if solved, would break the entire negative chain.
For example, if the initial problem is a "puddle of water on the floor," the chain might look like this:
Effect: Puddle on the floor.
(Why?) ⟶ Cause: Water overflowed from a glass.
(Why?) ⟶ Cause: Too much ice was added to the glass, displacing the liquid.
(Why?) ⟶ Cause: Ice is needed to cool the drink quickly.
(Why?) ⟶ Root Cause/Contradiction: To cool the drink, the ice must have a large surface area (many cubes), but a large surface area displaces a large volume of liquid. The contradiction is that the ice volume needs to be both large (for cooling) and small (to prevent overflow).
By identifying this root contradiction, you can now apply other TRIZ tools, like the Separation Principles, to find an inventive solution (e.g., use a single, large piece of ice with the same volume but less displacement, or use whiskey stones that cool without melting/displacing liquid).
Provide a concise description of TRIZ catalog of effects
The TRIZ Catalog of Effects, also known as the Effects Database, is a structured collection of over 2,500 physical, chemical, and geometric phenomena. It serves as a knowledge base that helps innovators find a specific function or action they need to solve a technical problem.
Essentially, it's a "solution-first" tool. Instead of starting with your problem and trying to invent a solution from scratch, you start by defining the function you want to achieve (e.g., "reduce friction," "measure temperature," "create a bond"), and the catalog provides a list of known scientific effects that can deliver that function. 💡
How It Works
The catalog is organized by function, allowing you to search for the specific action you need. Once you find the desired function, the catalog presents a list of related scientific effects, each with a brief explanation, illustrations, and examples of its application.
Define the Required Function: Clearly state the action you need the system to perform (e.g., "move a solid object without contact").
Search the Catalog: Look up this function in the catalog.
Review the Effects: The catalog will suggest relevant phenomena. For "move a solid object without contact," it might suggest using:
Magnetic Levitation: Using a magnetic field.
Acoustic Levitation: Using sound waves.
Bernoulli Effect: Using airflow (like an air hockey table).
Select and Adapt: Choose the most suitable effect and adapt it to your specific problem.
Structure of the Catalog
The effects are typically organized into categories:
Physical Effects: These relate to phenomena from physics, such as thermal expansion, the piezoelectric effect (generating voltage from pressure), the Seebeck effect (generating voltage from a temperature difference), and phase transitions (solid to liquid to gas).
Chemical Effects: These include phenomena like catalysis, oxidation, and the creation of foam.
Geometric Effects: These describe how the shape and geometry of objects can be used to perform a function, such as using corrugations for stiffness or specific shapes to manage fluid flow.
By providing a direct link between a required function and the scientific principles that can achieve it, the Catalog of Effects helps innovators leverage the whole of science and engineering, rather than just relying on their own limited knowledge. 🔬
Provide a concise description of TRIZ feature transfer
TRIZ Feature Transfer is a creative problem-solving technique that involves borrowing and adapting functions, features, or principles from one system or environment to another to improve a product or solve a problem. It is a systematic way of asking, "How have similar problems been solved in a completely different context?"
The core idea is to find a high-performing system—often from nature, a different field of technology, or a different market—and transfer its desirable attributes to your own system. 💡
How It Works
The process is a structured form of analogy-based thinking:
Define the System and its Function: Clearly identify the object or system you want to improve and the primary function it needs to perform better (e.g., a "knife" needs to "cut better").
Identify the "Action Zone": Pinpoint the exact place where the function happens (e.g., the edge of the knife blade).
Explore the Environment: List all the elements in the system's environment (the supersystem) and its internal components (the subsystems).
Borrow and Transfer: Systematically consider transferring features from the environment to the action zone. This can involve transferring substances, fields, shapes, or functions.
For example, to improve a razor blade (the system):
Function: To cut hair cleanly.
Environment: The environment includes water, shaving cream (substances), heat (field), and skin (object).
Transfer:
Transfer Water: Can water be part of the razor itself? This leads to razors with built-in water or gel dispensers.
Transfer Heat: Can the razor be heated? This leads to the idea of heated razors for a smoother shave.
Transfer Shaving Cream: Can the lubricating properties of cream be part of the razor? This leads to lubricating strips on razor cartridges.
By transferring a feature directly to the point of action, you often make the system more efficient, convenient, and closer to the ideal final result, where the function is performed with minimal complexity or extra components.
Provide a concise description of TRIZ flow analysis
TRIZ Flow Analysis is a powerful analytical tool used to improve systems by mapping and examining the flows of substances, energy, and information. The primary goal is to identify and resolve problems within a system, such as insufficient or excessive flows, harmful or useless flows, and overly complex pathways.
By visualizing how essential elements move through, into, and out of a system, you can pinpoint inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement, guiding the system closer to its ideal state. 🌊
How It Works
The analysis involves diagramming all the flows and evaluating them based on a set of ideal characteristics.
Identify the Flows: For a given system, you map out all the critical flows. There are three main types:
Substance Flow: The movement of any physical object or material (e.g., water through a pipe, parts on an assembly line, customers in a store).
Energy Flow: The transfer of any form of energy (e.g., heat, electricity, mechanical force, light).
Information Flow: The transfer of data or signals (e.g., sensor data, user commands, instructions).
Analyze Each Flow: Each identified flow is then evaluated against key questions:
Is the flow useful, harmful, or neutral?
Is its intensity adequate, insufficient, or excessive?
Does it follow a direct path, or is it unnecessarily complex?
Are there any missing but desired flows?
Identify Problems and Solutions: This analysis reveals problems like bottlenecks, energy losses, information gaps, or harmful byproducts. Once a problem is identified, other TRIZ tools (like the 40 Principles or 76 Standards) can be used to generate a solution.
For example, a Flow Analysis of a drip coffee maker might reveal:
Harmful Energy Flow: A significant amount of heat (energy) is lost from the carafe to the surrounding air, causing the coffee to cool down.
Insufficient Substance Flow: The water doesn't always saturate all the coffee grounds evenly.
Missing Information Flow: The user doesn't know the precise temperature of the water.
By identifying these flow-related problems, you can begin to devise solutions like adding insulation to the carafe (addressing the harmful flow) or redesigning the shower head for better water distribution (addressing the insufficient flow).
Provide a concise description of TRIZ trimming
TRIZ Trimming, also known as Problem Trimming or De-systematization, is a powerful analytical technique for simplifying systems and reducing costs by systematically removing components. The core idea is that the most ideal system performs its function with the fewest possible parts—or ideally, with no parts at all.
This method challenges the conventional design approach of adding components to solve problems. Instead, it focuses on eliminating parts and reassigning their useful functions to other existing components or to the surrounding environment. ✂️
How It Works
Trimming is a structured, step-by-step process:
List All System Components: Break down the system into its individual parts.
Analyze the Function of Each Component: For each part, determine its primary useful function and any harmful functions it produces.
Identify a Component to Trim: Select a component for removal, often starting with the most expensive, unreliable, or complex parts. The component that carries the function is called the "carrier."
Reassign the Useful Function: This is the most crucial step. You must figure out how the essential function of the trimmed part can be performed by:
Another component within the system.
The object being worked on (the "product").
The surrounding environment (the supersystem).
Solve New Problems: Removing a component often creates new, secondary problems. These are then solved using other TRIZ tools like the 40 Principles or the 76 Standards.
For example, consider "trimming" the stand from a desk microphone:
Component to Trim: The microphone stand.
Useful Function: To hold the microphone in the correct position.
Reassign the Function: Who or what else can hold the microphone?
To another system component: Could the monitor hold it? This leads to microphones built into webcams or monitors.
To the product/user: Could the user hold it? This leads to lavalier (lapel) microphones or headsets.
To the supersystem (environment): Could the desk itself hold it? This leads to microphones that sit directly on the desk or are built into it.
By methodically trimming components, you can dramatically simplify a design, lower its cost, increase its reliability, and move it closer to the Ideal Final Result.
From <https://gemini.google.com/app/> Google Gemini 2.5 Pro
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