Let us review how we applied the idea of the hidden inherent contradiction and the intensified contradiction to our examples (Tables 4.4–4.6).
Continue the study of your own problems. Summarize the intensification of the contradictions. Does the intensification give you any new ideas about solutions? See Table 4.7.
Altshuller published the first article on TRIZ in 1956 with his friend and col- league Shapiro. (The paper was not published in English until 2000.) Defining the critical contradiction and determining the immediate cause or contradiction were named as essential stages of problem solving.5 Later, in the 1970s, Altshuller
Table 4.3 Examples of Intensified Conflict
Study examples of intensified conflict. Add three more examples of your own. Try one each from your business life, your personal life, and your community. You can intensify, if possible, conflicts you have formulated in Table 4.1 or add
totally new examples.
Table 4.4 Reducing Lawnmower Noise: Intensifying Contradiction
Modeling Steps Example: Reduce Lawnmower Noise
Visible drawback The lawnmower is too noisy Tradeoff: the conflict between two
features
When noise absorption improves, the size of muffler and number of parts increase
Inherent contradiction Big muffler–small muffler Intensified inherent contradiction (if it
can be intensified)
expanded the definition from one type of contradiction to two: tradeoff and inher- ent (technical and physical contradictions by the old terminology). If you are learn- ing TRIZ now, you can start with these important concepts and save 20 years.
Table 4.5 Cultivating Carrots: Intensifying Contradiction
Modeling Steps Example: Make It Easy to Grow Carrots
Visible drawback Thinning of carrots is an arduous job Tradeoff: the conflict between two
features
The more precisely carrot seeds are planted, the slower the speed Inherent contradiction Many seeds–few seeds Intensified inherent contradiction (if it
can be intensified)
Very many seeds–one seed
Table 4.6 Improving Latching Mechanism: Intensifying Contradiction
Modeling Steps Example: Improve Pin-Type Latch
Visible drawback Latching mechanism wears and can even fracture
Tradeoff: the conflict between two features
If the pin is made easy to lock and open, wear gets worse
Inherent contradiction The clearance between the pin and the part should be small, and the clearance should be big
Intensified inherent contradiction (if it can be intensified)
There should be no clearance between the pin and the part, and there should be big clearance
Table 4.7 A Template for the Study of Your Own Problems
Modeling Steps Your Example
Visible drawback
Tradeoff: the conflict between two features
Inherent contradiction
Intensified inherent contradiction (if it can be intensified)
4.5 Summary
Numerous problems and tradeoffs can be boiled down to a single inherent contra- diction. The contradiction is intensified as much as possible. The crazier the contra- diction, the better the solution. The solution of the inherent contradiction removes many problems and gets many benefits at one stroke.
Terms such as “contradictions,” “paradoxes,” and “conflicts” are now increas- ingly used across industries and in many business areas.
References
1. Peters, T. J., and R. H. Waterman, In Search of Excellence (New York: Harper & Row, 1982), 91.
2. Field, S., The Screen-Writer´s Workbook (New York: Dell, 1984), 31.
3. Altshuller, G. S., And Suddenly the Inventor Appeared (Worcester, MA: Technical Innovation Center, 1996), 21.
4. Savransky, S. D., Engineering of Creativity (Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2000), 235. 5. Altshuller, G. S., and R. B. Shapiro, “Psychology of Inventive Creativity,” Izobretenie
59
Mapping of Invisible
Reserves
5.1 Introduction
In Chapter 2, we defined resources as things that are available but are not being used—sometimes we cannot “see” them because we have too many biases. In Andersen’s fairytale, a little child saw that the emperor had no clothes. The ancient Mayans used wheels for toys and obviously knew how to make wheeled vehicles, but they never built them for any other uses. We recommend you review the exam- ples in Section 1.2 before proceeding with this chapter.
Our use of the word “resource” in this book is nearly the same as in common language. Our list of resources includes materials and energy, human resources, information resources, and so on. The word “nearly” indicates an important limi- tation: we are interested in idle resources available in the system and its environ- ment, not in all resources. We are interested in free or very cheap resources, not in expensive additions.
First, we consider the invisible reserves of systems. All systems have gray zones or proximal zones of development. They are areas where we can find solutions that have potential to be developed, but have not yet been developed. They are zones where business opportunities lie.
Second, we look at the benefits from resource analysis. Understanding resources will help you in many ways. The analysis of resources in a situation can indepen- dently stimulate new ideas. Understanding resources can resolve the inherent contradiction that creates a problem in the first place. The analysis of resources will
help you to foresee the evolution of the system and to understand customer needs that you have not previously identified.
Third, we present a simple, handy classification of most useful resources. The tool, object, environment, and macro- and microlevel systems are resources clas- sified by their relationship to the system. On each of the system levels, a variety of resources may be available: substances, energy, space, time, and such. Other resources, such as information, people’s skills, and solutions used by other indus- tries are also available.
Fourth, we study the seven most important resource groups in detail. The fifth part outlines using resource analysis for explaining undesirable phenomena, for example, occasional faults in products with no visible reason.
In the model of problem solving (see Figure 5.1), resources work as a bridge between the contradiction and the ideal final result. As we have already said, resource mapping can also be used as an independent tool.