| "Keep
on the lookout for novel
ideas that others have used successfully.
Your idea has to be original only
in its adaptation to the problem
you're working on".
Thomas Edison (1847-1931)
Today,
evolution of science and technology
has reached tremendous rate. Major breakthroughs
in sciences, technology, medicine, and
engineering make our everyday life more
and more comfortable. Today it is nearly
impossible to find an engineer who does
not use complex mathematical tools for
formal modeling of design products,
CAD systems for modeling and drawing,
electronic handbooks and libraries,
and the Internet to find necessary data,
information,and knowledge.
But what
happens when we need to invent a radically
new solution? To generate a new idea?
To solve a problem when no known problem
solving methods provide results? To
predict and roadmap future generations
of products and technologies? What tools
and methods do we have to cope with
these situations? It happens that when
it comes to producing new ideas, we
still heavily rely on thousands-years-old
trials and errors method. It is good
when a new brilliant and
feasible
idea is born quickly. But what price
we have to pay for it most of the time?
Wasting time, money and human resources.
Can we afford this today, when competition
is accelerating every day and capability
to innovate becomes a crucial factor
of survival? Certainly, not. But if
there is anything that can help?
Fortunately,
the answer is “yes”. To
considerably improve innovative process
and avoid costly trials and errors,
leading innovators use TRIZ, a scientifically-based
methodology for innovation.
Relatively
little known outside the former Soviet
Union before the 90th, it rapidly gained
popularity at world-leading corporations
and organizations, among which are DSM,
Hitachi, Mitsubishi, Motorola, NASA,
Procter & Gamble, Philips, Samsung,
Siemens, Unilever, just to name a few.
This article presents a brief overview
of TRIZ and some its techniques with
focus on technological applications
of TRIZ.
|
