TRIZ – innovating today. Today, technology changes very fast. This makes some people wonder if old ways of solving problems, like TRIZ, are still useful. TRIZ is a way of thinking that helps solve engineering and invention challenges. It was created a long time ago, but even though technology has changed a lot since then, the basic ideas of TRIZ can still help us think of new solutions for both tech and non-tech problems. I came across the opinion that #TRIZ is not adapted to today’s technology. Indeed, many examples that quickly explain a principle among the #40principles of TRIZ also have a long history. But this does not mean that a given principle will not inspire us in today’s #technical problems or even non-technical ones. I don’t need to look far for an example. Principle number 1 among the 40 principles says to divide the object into parts, segment, dismember.
Historical and Modern Applications of Segmentation
First, the old technology (mechanics) – the leaf spring from the picture provides the desired elasticity because it is not one block of steel, but consists of strips of metal that can move relative to each other in a limited way. A bit more recent history – when I still worked at AT&T, our flagship software for the 5ESS exchanges was one, very large program, today all such big software is developed in smaller blocks from the beginning. Similarly, instead of one strong WiFi router, some of us have several repeaters, better covering the space despite concrete walls. I unfortunately cannot mention my most recent technical example due to NDA (as often happens in “today’s technology”).
Less Technical Illustrations of Segmentation
A less technical example – instead of one big factory, we have 2 smaller ones, which in some situations has more advantages (e.g., Northvolt in northern Sweden benefits from cheap electricity, and in Gdańsk from lower labor costs). With such tips as principle 1, TRIZ has more, thanks to which we can get out of a creative impasse and we will rather tire of thinking faster than run out of inspiration although we can always divide the time for thinking into blocks. Can you suggest another example of segmentation?
TRIZ Is Still Useful
TRIZ – innovating today. TRIZ is really about creative ways to solve problems, not about the specific examples or technology it used to talk about. The stories shared here show how the basic ideas of TRIZ work well even with new technology and situations. Whether we are talking about making something in a factory, designing software, or setting up a WiFi network, TRIZ helps us think in new ways and find solutions we might not have seen before. This shows that TRIZ is still a powerful tool for thinking creatively and solving problems, no matter how much technology changes.
