Report on the 3rd Senior Conference on TRIZ Research

Sponsored by the mechanical design academy of the Chinese mechanical engineering society, the 3rd Senior Conference on TRIZ Researching in China was held at Hebei University of Technology on October 20, 2007.Read More

Complete Technical System Generates Problem Definitions

Introducing TRIZ into many corporate environments requires first resolving the contradiction of the desire for comprehensive understanding and sophisticated problem solving without spending any time learning either.Read More

Student Corner: Dialectic and Fuzzy Logic

Logic and experience can "trick" minds. Understanding the different types of logic and opportunities for confusion can help avoid the traps people regularly face.Read More

The Problem with Ariz and Other Innovation Processes

What is the blinding flash of the obvious that designers of sequential problem solving processes have somehow failed to address before? Step-wise processes will not and cannot work so do not try to create them.Read More

The Sin of Underestimation: Poltava and the Battle of Moscow

Michael S. Slocum

The Battle of Poltava was a resounding victory for Peter the Great. He defeated Charles the XII and 14,000 Swedish cavalry with a superior force of 45,000 Russian soldiers. The battle lasted all day with the outnumbered Swedish … Read More

Corn Fields and Anti-bodies

Jack Hipple

Managing Innovation–A View from the Experts

The September 24 edition of the Wall Street Journal contained a special section focusing on their annual innovation awards. A panel discussion (including IDEO, Packer Design, Cisco, and Google) was held. Both the … Read More

The Four Archetypes

Cass PursellIn my last post, I referenced a recent article found on Forbes.com. The article, “Built for Innovation”, was written by Stephen Wunker and George Pohle. Wunker leads the healthcare, financial services, and telecom industry practices at Innosight, one of … Read More

I’m Going to Eat Your Brains and Gain Your Knowledge

Michael S. Slocum

OK not really. However, I am going to describe an approach to innovation that does allow you to leverage the intellectual capabilities of OTHER problem solvers for the generation of solutions to YOUR problems.  This can be achieved … Read More

Mimicking Innovation

Cass PursellFor every Google, for every Nintendo, there are a thousand copy cats. Success breeds imitation in innovation, as in everything else. But what is striking to me about the organizations that attempt to mimic another company’s successful innovation process … Read More

National Innovation Initiative

Praveen Gupta

In 2005 US Congress passed the innovation act with the intent of increasing research investment, increasing science and technology talent, and developing an innovation infrastructure. The legislation required to establish the President’s Council on Innovation for promoting innovation in … Read More

Intellectual Property Protection

Praveen Gupta

In recent discussions about intellectual property it has been reiterated that only about 5% of patents are of any significant value, and the rate of success for R&D driven innovation is also about 4 – 5%. So, I am … Read More

Can Johnny Innovate?

James Todhunter

Innovation consultant and occasional blogger Jim Belfiore is teasing us with “Why Johnny Can’t Innovate – Introductory Article.”  In this post, Jim promises to deliver us some interesting insights into the challenges that keep engineers and designers from become … Read More

ETRIA – Day 1 Afternoon

Ellen Domb

The main conference opened in the afternoon with greetings from the Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce, and the joint sponsors, Dr. Rolf Herb from TRIZ Centrum and Prof. Gaetano Cascini from ETRIA. Gaetano announced that the membership meeting on Thursday will … Read More

European TRIZ Association TRIZ Futures 2007—Day 1 Morning

Ellen Domb

Today is the beginning of the European TRIZ Association TRIZ Futures 2007, in Frankfurt, Germany. Most sessions have either 2 or 3 simultaneous papers. See www.etria.net for the full program—I’ll only report on the papers and sessions that I participate in. I’m … Read More

2007 TRIZ Conferences

Ellen Domb

August-November have been very busy and interesting conference months. The TRIZ Journal will reprint some of the best papers from each conference (with thanks to the authors and the conference organizers) but I am a great believer in the … Read More

Using the Contradiction Matrix to Improve Airflow

Windows are an integral part of our "home sweet home," workplace and any number of establishments that want to be open to keep an eye on the world. Windows solve a major physical contradiction: "I want to be in and want to be out."Read More

Welcome to the November 2007 Issue of The TRIZ Journal!

TRIZ in space! TRIZ under water! TRIZ in windows! TRIZ is everywhere this November! With a successful case study on the success of efficiency improvements to making sure that your business is adequately prepared for potential problems, TRIZ is there.Read More

Design Features for Next Generation Technology Products

This case study focuses on a process to identify innovative features using the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) techniques – navigating through design for a telematics and fleet management product.Read More

TRIZ: Solving Problems in Outer and Inner Space

The value of TRIZ is demonstrated in small projects as often as it is demonstrated in large projects. One project can have numerous problems with one inventive solution that can lead to more opportunities for ideality.Read More

Increasing Light Extraction Efficiency with TRIZ

A light emitting diode (LED) is a semi-conductor device, which emits light by electrons moving from a point of high energy to a point of low energy when electric power is applied to it. They are in widespread use and increasing their efficiency is important.Read More