On the effectiveness of systematized substance-field analysis for idea generation

This paper analyses the outcomes of a case study on application of the systematized Substance-Field Analysis (Su-Field) [1] to a real problem at Philips. A solution for a technical problem in a business area which had been thoroughly protected by intellectual property from many different competitors was required. The goal of the project was to develop a wide range of ideas to cover as many feasible options as possible. Su-Field Analysis was used during the ideation stage after thorough situation appraisal, Function Analysis and patent search. A project team that consisted of 13 Philips employees from different backgrounds participated in a one-day Su-Field idea generation session that followed a set of extensive six weeks project activities. The Su-Field idea generation session resulted in 11 new concepts that, in turn, were transformed into seven patent applications. The team members were surveyed on their Su-Field experiences. Survey results supported two hypotheses on the effectiveness of the procedure of systematized Su-Field as the means for a manual search of a user's knowledge repository. Su-Field had also been found effective in facilitating group creativity

A Method to Formulate Problem in Initial Analysis of Inventive Design

Part 6: Tools to Support Early Design PhasesInternational audienceInitial Analysis is one of the most important phases of Inventive Design, where designers apply the existing methods to formulate a problem. One of these methods is problem graph, which is a powerful tool to translate the knowledge, collected from available documents and data, into a graphical model. However, this graph, by considering today’s competitive world, does not have the agility to present the essential information for applying in the next phase of Inventive Design. The aim of this article is to introduce a new method, which makes a designer able to formulate an appropriate problem, according to the objectives, without wasting time. This method, along with TRIZ, could create an agile design process. An example is done to illustrate better the process

Problem definition and identification of contradictions in the interdisciplinary areas of mechatronic engineering

The modern TRIZ is today considered as the most organized and comprehensive methodology for knowledge-driven invention and innovation. When applying TRIZ for inventive problem solving, the quality of obtained solutions strongly depends on the level of completeness of the problem analysis and the abilities of designers to identify the main technical and physical contradictions in the inventive situation. These tasks are more complex and hence more time consuming in the case of interdisciplinary systems. Considering a mechatronic product as a system resulting from the integration of different technologies, the problem definition reveals two kinds of contradictions: 1) the mono-disciplinary contradictions within a homogenous sub-system, e.g., only mechanical or only electrical; 2) the interdisciplinary contradictions resulting from the interaction of the mechatronic sub-systems (mechanics, electrics, control and software). This paper presents a TRIZ-based approach for a fast and systematic problem definition and contradiction identification, which could be useful both for engineers and students facing mechatronic problems. It also proposes some useful problem formulation tech-niques such as the System Circle Diagram, the enhancement of System Operator with the Evolution Patterns, the extension of MATChEM-IB operator with Infor-mation field and Human Interactions, as well as the Cause-Effect-Matrix