TRIZ For Dummies

Book description

Use TRIZ to unlock creative problem solving

Are you new to TRIZ and looking for an easy-to-follow guide on how you can use it to enhance your company's creativity, innovation and problem-solving abilities? Look no further! Written in plain English and packed with tons of accessible and easy-to-follow instruction, TRIZ For Dummies shows you how to use this powerful toolkit to discover all the ways of solving a problem, uncover new concepts and identify previously unseen routes for new product development.

An international science that relies on the study of patterns in problems and solutions, TRIZ offers a powerful problem-solving and creativity-generating solution for companies looking to promote innovation, especially in the face of having to do more with less. Inside, you'll find out how to successfully apply this problem-solving toolkit to benefit from the experience of the whole world—not just the spontaneous and occasional creativity of individuals or groups of engineers with an organisation.

  • Learn to think like a genius with TRIZ
  • Discover the benefits of TRIZ as a tool for businesses
  • Find fun and simple exercises for putting TRIZ into practise
  • Benefit from industry examples of where TRIZ has worked—and how

With the help of TRIZ For Dummies, you'll get the skills needed to see the wood for the trees and solve complex problems with creativity, ingenuity and innovation.

Table of contents

    1. Cover
    2. Introduction
      1. About This Book
      2. Foolish Assumptions
      3. Icons Used in This Book
      4. Beyond the Book
      5. Where to Go from Here
    3. Part I: Getting Started with TRIZ
      1. Chapter 1: Going from Zero to TRIZ
        1. Getting to Know TRIZ
        2. Starting Your TRIZ Journey
        3. Mastering TRIZ
      2. Chapter 2: Understanding the Fundamental TRIZ Philosophy
        1. Thinking TRIZ
        2. Understanding the TRIZ Philosophy
        3. Being Systematic and Creative
    4. Part II: Opening Your TRIZ Toolbox
      1. Chapter 3: Solving Contradictions with the 40 Inventive Principles
        1. Uncovering and Understanding Unresolved Conflicts
        2. Solving Technical Contradictions
        3. Getting to Grips with Physical Contradictions
        4. Clever Tricks to Outsmart Contradictions: Using the 40 Inventive Principles
      2. Chapter 4: Applying the Trends of Technical Evolution
        1. Looking More Closely at the Trends
        2. Applying the Trends
        3. Applying the Trends More Generally
        4. Using the Trends to Create Strong Patents
      3. Chapter 5: Improving Ideality by Using Resources
        1. Understanding the Ideality Equation: How TRIZ Defines Value
        2. Understanding the Links Between Benefits, Functions and Solutions
        3. Thinking Resourcefully
      4. Chapter 6: Using the TRIZ Effects Database
        1. Thinking Innovatively with the Prism of TRIZ
        2. Using the Database of Scientific Effects
        3. Inventing with TRIZ
    5. Part III: Thinking Like a Genius
      1. Chapter 7: Breaking Psychological Inertia with the TRIZ Creativity Tools
        1. Recognising Psychological Inertia
        2. Appreciating the Benefits of Psychological Inertia
        3. Beating Psychological Inertia
        4. Understanding and Solving Problems Using Smart Little People
        5. Stretching Your Thinking with Size–Time–Cost
      2. Chapter 8: Thinking in Time and Scale
        1. Stretching Your Thinking in Time and Scale
        2. Understanding Problems in Time and Scale
        3. Finding Novel Solutions in Time and Scale
        4. Learning to Think in Time and Scale
      3. Chapter 9: Living in Utopia (then Coming Back to Reality)
        1. Defining the Ideal Outcome
        2. Taking a Step Towards Reality with Ideal Systems
        3. Making Sensible Decisions by Considering All Benefits, Costs and Harms
      4. Chapter 10: Problem Solving and Being Creative with Others
        1. Going for What You Really Want
        2. Thinking in Extremes
        3. Being Persistent in the Face of Failure
        4. Sharing and Developing Ideas with Other People
    6. Part IV: Understanding, Defining and Solving Difficult Problems with TRIZ
      1. Chapter 11: Applying the TRIZ Problem-Solving Process
        1. Logically and Systematically Solving Problems
        2. Climbing the Problem-Solving Steps
        3. Defining your problem correctly
        4. Generating Solutions
        5. Ranking and Developing Solutions
        6. Solving Difficult Problems Effectively in a Team
      2. Chapter 12: Getting to Grips with Your Problems with Function Analysis
        1. Making Complex Problems Simple
        2. Building a Function Analysis Diagram
        3. Uncovering Conflicts: Putting Contradictions in Context
        4. Understanding How Everything Fits Together
        5. Using Function Analysis
      3. Chapter 13: Solving Problems using the TRIZ Standard Solutions
        1. Defining a Subject–action–Object
        2. Categorising Problems
        3. Dealing with Harmful Actions
        4. Improving Insufficient Actions
        5. Measuring and Detecting
        6. Applying the Standard Solutions
      4. Chapter 14: Trimming for Elegant, Low-Cost Solutions
        1. Making Things Better and Cheaper
        2. Creating Elegant Solutions
        3. Trimming to Infinity and Beyond
        4. Trimming to Create Strong Intellectual Property
    7. Part V: The Part of Tens
      1. Chapter 15: Ten Pitfalls to Avoid
        1. Thinking TRIZ Doesn’t Apply to You
        2. Waiting for the ‘Right’ Problem
        3. Starting Too Big
        4. Tackling Problems for Which You Can’t Implement Solutions
        5. Tackling Problems without Involving the Problem Owner
        6. Trying to Solve Problems When You Don’t Understand the Issue or the Technology
        7. Trying to Solve Problems When You Lack Crucial Knowledge
        8. Working on a Problem That’s Already Been Solved
        9. Undertaking TRIZ by Stealth
        10. Giving Up Too Soon
      2. Chapter 16: Ten Tips for Getting Started with TRIZ
        1. Learn It
        2. Use It
        3. Start Small
        4. Attend a Workshop
        5. Think and Talk TRIZ
        6. Find a Friend
        7. Fail Safely
        8. Be Bold
        9. Fail Better
        10. Reflect
    8. Part VI: Appendixes
      1. Appendix A: The 40 Inventive Principles
        1. Inventive Principle 1: Segmentation
        2. Inventive Principle 2: Taking Out
        3. Inventive Principle 3: Local Quality
        4. Inventive Principle 4: Asymmetry
        5. Inventive Principle 5: Merging
        6. Inventive Principle 6: Multi-Function
        7. Inventive Principle 7: Nested Doll
        8. Inventive Principle 8: Counterweight
        9. Inventive Principle 9: Prior Counteraction
        10. Inventive Principle 10: Prior Action
        11. Inventive Principle 11: Cushion in Advance
        12. Inventive Principle 12: Equal Potential
        13. Inventive Principle 13: The Other Way Round
        14. Inventive Principle 14: Spheres and Curves
        15. Inventive Principle 15: Dynamism
        16. Inventive Principle 16: Partial or Excessive Action
        17. Inventive Principle 17: Another Dimension
        18. Inventive Principle 18: Mechanical Vibration
        19. Inventive Principle 19: Periodic Action
        20. Inventive Principle 20: Continuous Useful Action
        21. Inventive Principle 21: Rushing Through
        22. Inventive Principle 22: Blessing in Disguise
        23. Inventive Principle 23: Feedback
        24. Inventive Principle 24: Intermediary
        25. Inventive Principle 25: Self-service
        26. Inventive Principle 26: Copying
        27. Inventive Principle 27: Cheap, Short-Living Objects
        28. Inventive Principle 28: Replace Mechanical System
        29. Inventive Principle 29: Pneumatics and Hydraulics
        30. Inventive Principle 30: Flexible Membranes and Thin Films
        31. Inventive Principle 31: Porous Materials
        32. Inventive Principle 32: Colour Change
        33. Inventive Principle 33: Uniform Material
        34. Inventive Principle 34: Discarding and Recovering
        35. Inventive Principle 35: Parameter Change
        36. Inventive Principle 36: Phase Changes
        37. Inventive Principle 37: Thermal Expansion
        38. Inventive Principle 38: Boosted Interactions
        39. Inventive Principle 39: Inert Atmosphere
        40. Inventive Principle 40: Composite Structures
      2. Appendix B: The Contradiction Matrix
      3. Appendix C: The 39 Parameters of the Contradiction Matrix
      4. Appendix D: The Separation Principles
      5. Appendix E: The Oxford TRIZ Standard Solutions
        1. Solutions for Dealing with Harms
        2. Solutions for Improving Insufficiency
        3. Solutions for Detection and Measurement
    9. About the Author
    10. Cheat Sheet
    11. Advertisement Page
    12. Connect with Dummies
    13. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: TRIZ For Dummies
  • Author(s): Lilly Haines-Gadd
  • Release date: April 2016
  • Publisher(s): For Dummies
  • ISBN: 9781119107477