"I was responsible for a 15+ year Six Sigma deployment with a global industrial manufacturer. During that time we saw projects completed on every aspect of company work. The tools and processes of "standard" Six Sigma were enough when, following the analyze phase of D-M-A-I-C, the improvement needed was self-evident from the data. However, when the solution was not so clear, Six Sigma was relatively silent on facilitating a team to an innovative solution. We had learned that one of the strengths of Six Sigma was the flexibility of the D-M-A-I-C framework to accept new tools in the pursuit of improvement. After reading "Simplified Triz", we called Ellen Domb to see if TRIZ might address our need. Over the course of several sessions and some
experimentation, Ellen led us to the incorporation of several TRIZ tools into our Six Sigma training and toolkit. The combination of the structure and discipline of Six Sigma with the creativity and innovation of TRIZ give teams a powerful set of tools and processes to address most of the problems that they will face."
-George K. Strodtbeck III, Author of Making Change in Complex Organizations, Vice President, SBTI.
"One of the easiest books to read and comprehend, removing the misconception that TRIZ is complicated to understand ...
.... now you can really cruise in your car without becoming the mechanics."
-Richard Ng, Quality System Manager, HP Inc. Singapore, Certified TRIZ Level 2
"The ability to move forward in the midst of chaos is the new competitive advantage. Simplified TRIZ: New Problem Solving Application for Technical and Business Professionals, 3rd Edition provides a structure for problem definition and description of the desired final result that cuts through the chaos. It has added a new dimension to our operational excellence program. Traditionally thought of as an engineering tool we have used it very successfully for bioprocess design and optimization. I will not start a technology development project without using this method."
-Greg Crab, Process Automation Expert, Syngenta
"The process of brainstorming has been used very effectively in the Air Force to address a broad range of problems. The main benefit of brainstorming is that the quality and diversity of ideas produced by a group is greater than the sum of what individuals can generate on their own. This happens because interactions with one another within a group spur ever greater insights and ideas from each other and produce a solution beyond what's possible for individuals. As part of my involvement with the Innovative concepts Group (ICG) in the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Space Vehicles Directorate in the late 1990s and currently with the Center for Rapid Innovation (CRI) for all of AFRL, we have used brainstorming extensively. Teams of the best minds in the government and industry are regularly assembled to solve pressing and complicated problems for the Air Force across many disciplines to include unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), airborne global secure communications, nuclear command and control, and nuclear transport, among many others. This approach has been instrumental for achieving some of the most revolutionary and breakthrough capabilities for the Air Force, some of which have been subsequently pursued by the Office of Secretary of Defense (OSD).
Mr. David Conley recently introduced TRIZ to AFRL. To compare the TRIZ approach to our standard brainstorming process, we gave Mr. Conley four specific problems, which we had previously evaluated and generated a set of potential solutions.
In a week's time, Mr. Conley leveraged the TRIZ analysis process to decompose each of the problems and generate a lengthy list of possible solutions. Mr. Conley was able to generate nearly identical solution sets to what we had done using four separate teams of a dozen people analyzing, brainstorming, and compiling over several weeks. Consequently, TRIZ produced an approximate twenty times reduction in manpower for problem decomposition, analysis, and solution generation. The only input Mr. Conley required was a clear problem statement, constraints on the solution space, and available resources. That a single person skilled in TRIZ could single-handedly generate such a diverse and insightful set of solutions in such limited time was amazing.
A further benefit was that TRIZ provided a very structured decomposition and organization of both the problem and solution spaces to help fully capture all potential solutions versus a seemingly random list of potential solutions generated out of brainstorming sessions. We see tremendous value in leveraging TRIZ to perform problem analysis, decomposition, and solution generation and have since regularly leveraged Mr. Conley's expertise. By performing TRIZ analysis up front, the technical team can then enhance the usual analysis output by focusing their time analyzing the most attractive solution concepts and devote their time to generating a more comprehensive analysis of the problem, a broader, richer solution space, and a more effective, economical final solution.
A fellow AFRL colleague had Mr. Conley perform an analysis of specific elements of satellite design and expressed that TRIZ brings a disciplined analysis methodology that is very thorough and all encompassing. Despite Mr. Conley having no particular background in satellite structures, he was able to apply the TRIZ methodology to generate an impressive set of solution concepts. Further, he achieved this with very little technical input from AFRL and in an impressively few number of hours. The results made it clear the processes utilized are robust and capable of accurately focusing on issues that may be hidden within large and complex systems. The breadth of solutions provided ample flexibility in how the ultimate solution could be implemented with potential solutions ranging from simple to complex. Further, this systematic innovation process can be scaled at several hierarchy levels within a system for the purpose of refining and advancing the most attractive solution concepts.
The Simplified TRIZ 3rd edition adds significant improvements to the earlier edition. Chapter 7 has been added to explain how to apply functional analysis to model problem situations and how to apply contradiction analysis (and thus solution generation) to these models. Also, Chapter 10 has been significantly expanded with the application of patterns (trends of system evolution) to developing innovations and includes several new detailed cases studies: 1) the future of washing machine, 2) the future of parcel delivery (3D printing), and 3) the future of smart phones (mobile computing).
I highly recommend the TRIZ process and particularly, Mr. David Conley, as a skilled, insightful, and capable TRIZ operator, for analyzing complex problems and generating a diverse set of potential solutions. TRIZ is almost certain to generate a simpler, cheaper, and more effective solution than could be achieved otherwise."
-Ret. Major Richard Martin, DR-IV, Air Force Research Laboratory
"TRIZ has created such a fundamental shift in my natural way of thinking, I can barely imaging problem solving without it. TRIZ has allowed me to overcome many challenges, and more importantly, has helped me to guide and coach many other problem solvers to also overcome their challenges with innovation.
When asked about TRIZ books, I always had to apologize that most books tend to over complicate TRIZ or over simplify TRIZ to the point of neutralizing its effectiveness.
Simplified TRIZ 3rd edition effectively bridges this gap presenting an easy to understand, yet effective usage of the TRIZ methodology.
I hope you also find it valuable.
Just TRIZ it!"
-Ido Lapidot, Former Intel Strategic Technologies Planner and Systematic Innovation Leader, Level 3 TRIZ Expert
A major emphasis of the lab is to assess the applicability of fundamental research to the technology needs of the Air Force. Often this requires preliminary concept studies to identify requirements and performance metrics prior to launching in-depth assessments and evaluations. While methods for assessing technologies against system requirements exist within the lab, little is available in terms of formal methods for developing initial sets of requirements and performance metrics. In particular, for software related technologies; e.g., architecture, logic, information assurance, code robustness and V&V techniques, we were simply at a loss on how to approach the necessary software related technology assessments. TRIZ offered an industry proven formal method which allow us to move forward with a key software architecture concept study. David provided an excellent overview of the TRIZ methodology and example applications. After several meetings where we refined our inputs and added more detail, David was able to apply his expertise with the TRIZ formal method and provided us an excellent report detailing the results of his analysis. The report not only provided us an evaluation of our initial conceptual software architecture but led to several unexpected novel architectures for us to study in more detail. It was in identifying these unexpected concepts that the real power and value of TRIZ was realized. The TRIZ formal method and David's expert application of TRIZ proved to be a crucial first step for initiating several in-depth studies for concepts we simply would not have arrived through our intuition and experience alone. If you are looking for a tool to help with identifying innovative and creative designs I highly recommend the TRIZ formal method for the job.
-Dr. Frank R. Chavez, DR-III, Senior Research Aerospace Engineer, Air Force Research Laboratory, Space Vehicles Directorate
Dave Conley and Ellen Domb brings their wealth of problem solving knowledge and experience into a user friendly style that is readable and engaging. They solve the contradiction many see with TRIZ: Too much depth and it can feel overwhelming. Lack of depth leaves the reader wanting for practical application. Dave and Ellen overcome this contradiction by engaging the reader in practical examples from the beginning gradually moving to the deeper tools that hold the power of TRIZ. They reveal the thinking behind TRIZ concepts which enables a deeper understanding of how to use TRIZ to become an expert problem solver.
-Bryan Pollard, Risk Program Manager, Verizon, Level 3 TRIZ Expert
"TRIZ has been employed within Syngenta as a method to unbridle creativity while directing structure to the innovation process. TRIZ helps break down domain-centric thinking and introduces us to a broader and more disruptive solution space. However, the process is also systematic and disciplined so invention is not at the mercy of happenstance.
The significant benefits realized from the application of TRIZ methodology to Syngenta has been diverse, from optimized pipelines, application of new fields to old problems, and first mover advantage in dynamic markets. TRIZ has codified a large swath of past human invention and integrated it within a methodology that enables solving the task at hand.
Simplified TRIZ makes the method accessible and approachable to a broad audience, and the new edition includes new tools and an expanded section on how to introduce TRIZ to your company."
-Genichi Kakefuda, Crowdsourcing & Innovation Systems Lead, Syngenta Biotechnology Inc.
"Co-authors Rantanen, Conley and Domb have done it again! Simplified TRIZ transforms what is, arguably, the most sophisticated framework for understanding and predicting technological, engineering and innovation change ever developed into a more accessible, actionable sequence of scientific and business methods many more readers will be able to understand and apply. As a consultant to industry and government for the past two-plus decades, I've never before seen an equally rigorous, universally relevant scientific method applied by our clients... and I doubt I ever will. Simplified TRIZ takes the techniques out of the realm of rocket science and puts it firmly into the hands of those of us, mere mortals, trying to cope with the seeming chaos of industry and technological change."
-Arik R. Johnson, Founder & Chairman, Aurora WDC
