We have presented the patterns in simple ways and omitted many details. However, to avoid oversimplification, keep these points in mind:
Uneven evolution of the system, the transition to macrolevel, and pulsating evolution are the most universal patterns. By “universal” we mean that, in almost every case, we can see these patterns and use them to develop the system.
The pattern of increasing interactions is perhaps the most statistical of those considered. For example, systems contain more and more electric and magnetic interactions. The trend has been steady for more than 100 years. However, this does not mean that mechanical interactions should always be replaced or compete with electric and magnetic fields. The pattern says that the transition to more controllable fields happens so often that this possibility should be considered.
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Table 9.2 Decreasing the Noise in the Lawnmower
Pattern How to Apply to the System
Uneven evolution of the system. Noise suppression, decreasing pollution. Transition to macrolevel. Combination with other machines. Solving
the problem at the level of the garden system.
Transition to microlevel. Porous materials.
The increase of interactions. Noise against noise. Sensing the sound waves and generating waves that cancel them.
Expansion and trimming. Increasing and decreasing number of parts. First making the muffler bigger, and later eliminating the muffler altogether. Summary: increasing of ideality. Cleaner lawnmower. Less lawnmower.
Absent lawnmower. Grass stays short by itself.
Table 9.3 How to Cultivate Carrots
Pattern How to Apply to the System
Uneven evolution of the system.
Thinning and seeding, with much manual work, are backward operations in gardening. Transition to macrolevel. Adding fertilizers to the tape.
Transition to microlevel. Imagine many microcarrots instead of a few big ones.
The increase of interactions. Collecting sunlight. Expansion and trimming. Adding the tape.
Summary: increasing of ideality. Single action needed to plant at the right spacing.
The transition to the microlevel happens frequently, too. Some few exceptions are found. For example, sometimes chemical washing is replaced by mechan- ical cleaning, or cleaning by water or steam to get rid of chemicals. One should remember the probabilistic character of patterns and check whether the changes implied by them increases the ideality of the system.
One frequently asked question is how one can speak of any patterns or laws in the evolution of systems, when predictions of the future and society are very unreli- able. If the patterns are true scientific laws, should we not be capable of precisely predicting the evolution, at least the evolution of technology? We can predict the technology of the future with the statistical accuracy that is significant enough for practical purposes. We can predict, for example, that humans will land on Mars before 2050. It is not as precise as the astronomical calculation of the following eclipse of the moon, but still gives useful information: it is reasonable to devote resources to the Mars mission. Between 10 and 20 percent of predictions made on the expert knowledge have been realized (e.g., in 1967, Kahn and Wiener presented the list “One Hundred Technical Innovations Very Likely in the Last Third of the Twentieth Century”).2
There is also the time factor. The longer the period considered, the more regu- larity one can see and of less important is the influence of occasional factors and subjective decisions. In the beginning of the book, we presented examples of “late” innovations. Obviously, innovations such as penicillin, fast food restaurants, and flash melting of metals could appear some time earlier or later than they really hap- pened. In the long run, the evolution was inevitable. One can accelerate or retard the change, but not prevent it.
9.11 Summary
The same patterns are repeated in the evolution of systems. These patterns can be used for the further development of the system.
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Table 9.4 Select One of Your Problems and Apply the Patterns to It
Pattern How to Apply to the System
Uneven evolution of the system Transition to macrolevel Transition to microlevel The increase of interactions Expansion and trimming Summary: increasing of ideality
There are five primary patterns of evolution: uneven evolution of the tech- nology, transition to macrolevel, transition to microlevel or segmentation, increase of interactions, and expansion/convolution or trimming.
You can use the patterns of evolution for selecting solutions, finding or solving problems, forecasting evolution, and transferring solutions across industries.
References
1. Salamatov, Y., TRIZ: The Right Solution at the Right Time (Hattem, the Netherlands: Insytec, 1999), 192.
2. Kahn, H., and A. Wiener, The Year 2000 (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1967), 52.
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Principles for Innovation:
40 Ways to Create
Good Solutions
10.1 Introduction
We have repeated throughout this book that understanding the common features of good solutions is crucial to the enhancement of creativity. One obvious conclu- sion is to simply make a list of the most important features and then use the list for generating bright ideas and successful products.
Good generic solutions across industries have been studied as part of the devel- opment of TRIZ. Altshuller and his researchers collected examples of repeated use of the same solutions from patent information. After painstaking work, the infor- mation on tens of thousands of good solutions was boiled down to 40 principles in the early 1970s.1 The use of these principles of innovation became an impor-
tant branch of the theory. Various collections of standard solutions and principles for innovations were developed. To learn more about the research, see Savransky’s book2 and the paper by Zlotin and Zusman.3
Our goal in this chapter is to present the modern list of 40 principles as a prob- lem-solving tool that is effective, easy to use, cheap, and accessible to everybody. The 40 principles are the most popular tool of TRIZ and several books and many articles are devoted to them. This version has three main features:
1. All examples are new. They are mainly examples of innovations or realized solutions that are actually used in everyday life.
2. Most principles are illustrated with examples from both business and technology.
3. The principles are presented in a compact form, without division to subprin- ciples, as in early books. One can manage 40 principles much easier than 80 to 90 subprinciples.
Some of the features of earlier versions of the 40 principles are preserved in this version:
The structure of the list of the principles, that is, the number (40—not less, not more) and the order of principles are the same as in older books, so this book is compatible with older publications.
The names or labels of the principles are also conventional. For example, one principle is named “strong oxidants.” We show how, for some situations, this can mean the use of strong emotions, as well as the use of particular chemi- cals, but we keep the classical name for the principle.
Research continues and there may possibly be more than 40 principles at some time in the future (or fewer, if the list is reorganized.) For now, the 40 principles are the standard and new examples and new ways of using them have been added to expand their use. If you would like to get additional examples to help you solve your problems, try any of the following issues of The TRIZ Journal:
Business examples: September 1999 Food technology examples: October 2001 Ecological design examples: August 2003
Service operations management examples: December 2003 Chemical engineering examples: June 2005
The structure of this chapter is simple. First, we will introduce the principles with some examples. Then we will show how to select principles that will help solve particular problems, including the contradiction matrix as an important tool for the search.
Figure 10.1 shows the place of the principles in the model for problem solving. You can use the 40 principles as an independent tool. This chapter is written so that you can read it and get benefits from it without reading the other chapters of the book.
The efficiency of the 40 principles increases when they are used together with other tools. Patterns of evolution, ideality, and contradiction analysis may give the same solutions or may give different solutions from the 40 principles—considerable overlap is quite common. The tools strengthen and enrich each other.
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