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Evaluate - and Solve - Your Problem Through 9 Windows

By Ellen Domb

One common roadblock to innovation is the inability to define the problem that needs to be solved; one contributor to this situation is the complexity of real situations. The technique in TRIZ (The Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) called 9 windows, or the system operator, can help cut through the complexity so that the problem that needs to be solved becomes clear. Best of all, you can learn this technique without learning the full TRIZ methodology.

A 9 windows diagram looks like a tic-tac-toe board – a 3×3 matrix. Start by drawing the simple board and put your problem in the middle square as shown in Table 1.

Table 1: The Start of a 9 Windows Diagram

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Your Problem Here

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(blank)

(blank)

Use whatever makes sense to describe your problem – a sentence, a picture, a link to a document, etc. This is your tool so you should do what will help you.

Now label the rows and columns of the system operator diagram as shown in Table 2.

Table 2: Expanding the 9 Windows Diagram

Past

Present

Future

Sub-system

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System

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Your Problem Here

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Super-system

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(blank)

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You can find eight new ways to think about your problem by filling in the empty boxes.

People from many backgrounds grasp the concept of 9 windows quite easily, but because thinking about sub-systems (for the parts that make up a system) and super-system (for the environment in which the system functions) are not normally a part of a person’s vocabulary, using the system operator can be a challenge.This is a bit different from the problem that is seen in Six Sigma training where you must distinguish between “transaction” and “manufacturing/ operations” problems. Many transaction problems involve structured information transfer and other technological systems, in which it does not matter who is familiar with “system” language or whether they work with transactions or with physical technology.

A recent experience with a banking group illustrates this difficulty. The people who design customer service centers and information systems use the language that is common in engineering, and had an easy grasp of the relationship among sub-systems, systems and super-systems. The people who deal with product and service development, most of whom came from either marketing or finance/accounting backgrounds, did not.After the concept was explained using stories about situations analogous to theirs (cars, car dealerships, car production system and child, family, community) they understood how to get beyond the vocabulary block.

In other words, you get to decide what system you are interested in. The sub-systems are the parts that make up the system and the super-system is that system’s environment.

Table 3: Examples of the Relationships Among a System, Sub-system and Super-system
Example 1 Example 2 Example 3 Example 4 Example 5
Sub-system • Equipment
• Doctor
• Nurse
• Records

• Pages
• Words
• Concepts
• Pictures

• Paper fibers
• Ink
• Glue

• Engine
• Brakes
• Seats
• Paint

• Cars
• Trucks
• Busses
• Roads
System Doctor’s office Book Page of book Car Transportation
Super-system Healthcare

• Library
• Bookstore
• Online bookstore

Book Transportation Society

As shown in examples 2, 3 and 4, the book can be at any system level; we can look at the physical parts of the book (fibers, pages, etc.) or at the concepts (words, pictures, etc.). We can choose which super-system to look at.

There are several ways to use the past, present and future columns. One simple method involves asking the following questions:

  • Past: If I could travel back in time and do something to prevent this problem, what would it be?
  • Present:If I could do something different right now so that this problem wouldn’t be happening, what would it be?
  • Future:The problem is happening, and I wasn’t able to prevent it. How can I fix it?

Sometimes you can answer all eight new questions (the center box is not new – that is where you begin). Sometimes you can only answer a few questions. For example, if I think about a bad meal I made, I can prevent it at the super-system level (take cooking lessons) or at the sub-system level (buy better ingredients), but I probably can not correct it unless the problems are minor (add catsup).

The system operator will give you up to eight new ways to look at the problem that had you stumped; your creativity can take over from there. Try it on the next creativity problem that you tackle, then teach it to someone else to improve your abilities.

About the Author:

Ellen Domb is the founder and principal TRIZ consultant of the PQR Group. She is also the founding editor of The TRIZ Journal and a commentator for Real Innovation. Contact Ellen Domb at ellendomb (at) trizpqrgroup.com or visit http://www.trizpqrgroup.com.