Transcript Skills and Tools to Support Productivity in Creative Work Valeri Souchkov

Skills and Tools to Support Productivity
in Creative Work
Valeri Souchkov
ICG Training & Consulting
Enschede
The Netherlands
Sources for Innovation
Forecasts
Analogy
Insight
New
market
demands
INNOVATION
Problems,
Troubleshooting
Technology
Diversification
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Market
studies
New scientific
discoveries and
findings
Obstacles
 Lack of transparent overall methodology: Innovation is often
confused with purely economic methods for new product
development and marketing
 Lack of innovative culture across entire organization: New
products/technology creation is often addressed to R&D only
 Lack of a process/workflow model: Despite the number of
existing methods supporting innovation, there is no clear
pathway of how to realize and manage innovation
 Lack of proper idea management: Still, trials & errors
 Lack of knowledge management: 70-80% of knowledge
generated during innovation sessions are forgotten and lost
 Lack of measuring results: Often, an effect from the use of
innovation methodologies is neglected
 Lack of overall innovation management: Responsibilities are
shared in most cases
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Formal vs. Informal
Degree of
automation
Creativity Invention R&D
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Role of human
involvement
Design
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Manufacturing
Degree of
Formalization
Problems and solutions
Availability of
Problem solving
method
Standard
Problems:
solution method is
known
and applicable
Form of solution
Non-standard
Problems:
Solution method
is unknown
or inapplicable
Informal
solutions
(ideas, concepts,
mind maps)
Poorly supported with systematic
methods before TRIZ
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Formal
solutions:
Numerically
calculated
presentations
Why difficult?
 Problems are difficult due to:
• Strong mental inertia which prevents us from thinking
“out of the box”
• Lack of problem solving strategy
• The needed knowledge to solve a problem can be
outside of our specific domain of knowledge
• To solve a difficult problem, it is always necessary to
generate many alternatives with trial & errors method
• What problem to solve?...
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Psychological Inertia
Ideal Solutions
(benefits/costs)
Acceptable Solutions
Solution Space
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Types of Thinking
Solution
Divergent thinking
(avoid constraints)
Search space
Solution
Search space
Convergent thinking
(avoid constraints and
use navigation)
Search space
Search space
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Methods to boost idea generation
Random Methods
Systematic Methods
Brainstorm
Synectics
Reframing
Lateral thinking
…
Morphological Matrix
Attribute Listing
Technology/Service maps
TRIZ
…
Specific informationindependent
Heavily rely on human
cognitive capabilities
Criteria of evaluation are not
included to the methods
Operate with specific information
Little dependence on cognitive
capabilities
Re-use of past experience
Use metaphorical approach
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How to improve?
 A major shortcoming of all non-systematic methods:
• Random search for new solution concepts
 Immediate implication:
• As a result, low ratio “Useful ideas / Useless Ideas”.
 Question: How to increase innovative productivity?
 Answer: By using blend of convergent and divergent
thinking.
 TRIZ is a blend of systematic approach to solving
inventive problems and psychological operators to
improve a process of producing innovative ideas.
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Foundations of TRIZ
Genrich Altshuller
(1926-1999)
400.000 inventions
(more than 1.5 mln.
by today)
• 98% of inventions use some known solution principle
• Only 2% are pioneering inventions
• Inventors use patterns without awareness
• Innovation can be organized in a systematic way
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TRIZ
 TRIZ: A Theory of Inventive Problem Solving
(abbreviated in Russian)
 Result of 40 years of research of more than 300
people (and still evolving)
 TRIZ makes innovation systematic while preserving a
capability to freely use human creativity.
 TRIZ does not replace traditional method for
innovation, it adds value to the existing methods and
practices
 Since TRIZ has been brought outside of the ex-USSR in
1990th, it is today recognized by several world-leading
organizations such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, NASA,
Procter & Gamble, Samsung, Mitsubishi as the best
practice of innovation
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Application Areas
Map, analyze, decompose
and structure complex
problem situations
Innovatively
optimize
a technology/
product
Solve a specific
immediate problem
SYSTEMATIC
INNOVATION
& TRIZ
Generate new
business concepts and
optimize existing
business systems
Forecast future
technology/product
evolution
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Solve business
& management
conflicts
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Systematic Innovation
Psychological Techniques
• Creative Imagination Development
• Techniques for generating ideas
Analytical Tools
•
•
•
•
Knowledge Bases
Root Conflict Analysis
Function Analysis
Evolution Potential Analysis
Algorithm of Inventive
Problem Solving (ARIZ)
• Inventive Principles
• Inventive Standards
• Databases of Effects
TRIZ-SI
Non-Technical TRIZ
• TRIZ for Business and
Management
• TRIZ for Marketing & PR
Theory and Trends of Evolution
•
•
•
•
•
S-curve of Evolution
Wave-curve of Evolution
Ideality
Laws and Trends of Evolution
Functional Idealization
Evaluation Techniques
• Comparative Ranking
• Multicriteria Decision Matrix
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Effectiveness
 Is TRIZ effective?
• Samsung: Single project: Euro 1 billion costs savings
(and named “The best practice of innovation”).
• Boeing: Single project: US 1.5 billion extra earnings.
• P&G: New product ideas pass through TRIZ expertise.
Two groups of equally experienced engineers tried to
solve the same problem within a limited time interval
Without TRIZ
(628 persons)
2%
With TRIZ
(723 persons, one week training)
20%
28%
4%
Solution
Doubtful
Solutions
No Solution
78%
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68%
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TRIZ Philosophy
 Systems evolves through elimination of contradictions
• Problems are be represented in terms of contradictions
that must be eliminated to come up with breakthrough
solutions.
 Evolution of systems is a systematic process
• A number of regularities exist which govern the
technology evolution. The regularities are generic over
various domains.
 Previous experience can be studied and re-used
• By studying previous experience of creative work it is
possible to learn how to use this experience in a
systematic way to solve new problems.
 New inventive problems are hardly formulated correctly
• A task is to build the most correct problem
formulation.
 Successful problem solving requires a blend of generic
thinking and specific knowledge
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Contradictions
 Evolution of any system is a stepwise elimination of
contradictions (conflicts).
 Contradictions arise:
• When we reach a barrier imposed by the existing
principle behind a system; the more stronger the
barrier is, the more difficult a problem is.
• When we know how to solve the problem, but a
solution method is inapplicable due to negative effects
arising from its implementation.
 Systematic Innovation provides tools to resolve
contradictions and further evolve systems.
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Problem Solving Process
SYSTEMATIC INNOVATION KNOWLEDGE BASES
PROBLEM MODEL
SOLUTION MODEL
SPECIFIC IDEA GENERATION
ANALYTICAL METHODS & TECHNIQUES
SPECIFIC PROBLEM
SPECIFIC SOLUTION
TRIALS & ERRORS
SEARCH SPACE
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Evolution Model
 Three phases of system evolution:
S-Curve of Evolution:
Degree of the system’s
performance (main function)
Wave of Evolution: Expenses to deliver
function (mass, energy, materials,
information)
Time
A system is
born.
Creating Functionality
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Expansion
Mature system.
Convolution
(Ideality growth)
Adding Functionality
Preserving Functionality
Sound recording evolution
Overall Performance
 Digital magnetic recording
 Digital optical recording
High durability of recording
Noise is no more vs. low durability of recording
when exposed to magnetic fields and costs
 Magnetic tape for recording
Expanded frequency range vs. high
noise level
 Steel wire for recording
Possibility to rewrite information vs. low
quality due to short frequency range
 LP recording
Durability vs. inability to rewrite recorded sound
Wax drum for recording
Recording is made possible vs low durability / quality of recording
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Time
Ingredients
Knowledge Bases
Analytical Logic
Systematic
Innovation
Philosophy and
methodology of innovative
problem solving
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Management Tasks
 Idea management: development of organizationspecific methods for managing idea generation
processes.
 Product development management: realization of
ideas in form of commercial products and technologies.
 Environmental Innovation management: constant
monitoring and “scanning” of the environment in which
an organization operates in order to forecast future
innovations.
 Enterprise-wide "Outside-the-box" innovation
management: creation of organizational culture that
stimulates creative thinking.
 Innovation life-cycle management: coordinating the
entire innovation life cycle from the envisioning stage
through to measuring results and rewarding of individual
innovators or innovation workgroups.
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Role of IT?
Knowledge overflow problem
Knowledge search problem
“Lost” knowledge problem
Miscommunication problem
“Invisibility” problem: where we are, what was done,
what should be done with respect to a particular task
 Lack of Technology Intelligence
 Lack of metrics to measure success of innovation over
the whole innovation life-cycle
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
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IT support for Innovation
Enterprise IT infrastructure
External Sources
Specialists
External
Knowledge
Repository
Core Team
Communication
Environment
Internal
Knowledge
Repository
Retailers
Process Manager
Situation
Mapping
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Decision Makers
Suppliers
Data & Knowledge
Bases
Supporting
Methods
& Tools
Experts
Idea
Management
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…
Infrastructure for Innovation
Management:
Innovation Manager
Core Innovation Team:
Methods, techniques
and tools for
Systematic Innovation,
Consulting & Training
Platform
Innovation
Infrastructure
Internal and External
Knowledge Sources:
Databases, Science &
Technology companies
Consulting companies,
R&D centers, Universities,
etc.
IT Support for Life-Cycle Innovation
Management:
IT platform for knowledge gathering, storage and
exchange; communication, knowledge and
process management; decision making; bridge to
other infrastructure components
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Conclusions
 Role of “thinkers” will grow in the knowledge-based
economy, despite further evolution of IT tools
 Innovation Manager should be responsible for the
overall innovation life-cycle
 Core innovation competence teams should be a
major driving force behind creating an innovation system
of an organization
 An IT support, combining knowledge and process
management should solve problems of knowledge
overflow, as well as external/internal communications
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More information
 ICG Training & Consulting (Enschede, The Netherlands)
• www.xtriz.com
[email protected]
• Phone: +31-53-4342884 / +31-6-20423455
 The European TRIZ Association
• www.etria.net
 Alltshuller Institute (USA)
• www.aitriz.org
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