Archives of New Information of "TRIZ Home Page in Japan"  (2006 - 2008)
New Information Posted in 2008
New Information Posted in 2007
New Information Posted in 2006
Brief introduction to all the new information posted in 2006 - 2008, listed in the historical order, latest at the top.

buttons guide you to the pages written in Japanese.

For the items posted in other years, please use the table of links shown below:

General Index	(A) Editorial	(B) References	Links	News & activities	Software tools	(C) Papers, case studies, articles,	Lectures, course materials		(D) Forum	General Index
Home Page	New Information	for children and highschool students	for students and the general public	for engineers (introduction)	for Practitioners	CrePS System Documents	USIT Manual & Case Studies	WTSP (World TRIZ Sites Project)	Search in this site	Home Page

Posted in 2008

  TRIZ Forum: "A Report of Japan TRIZ Symposium 2008" (Nov. 16, 2008)

Toru Nakagawa, (OGU), Presented at the ETRIA Members' Meeting, in ETRIA TRIZ Future 2008 Conference, Held at University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands, on Nov. 5 - 7, 2008.
On the request from ETRIA, I reported about our recently held Japan TRIZ Symposium, with 8 slides.  The report contains 3 slides quoted from the Opening Address by Toshihiro Hayashi (Board Chairperson of Japan TRIZ Society), and 3 more explaining our Symposium policy: i.e. (1)  Open and active conference on TRIZ, (2) Much opportunities of presentation and communication, and (3) Primarily National AND Partially (but as much as possible) International.  We are very pleased to learn that most overseas presenters in the Symposium and also many people in ETRIA highly evaluated our style and achievements of the TRIZ Symposium. English version in HTML  and in  PDF , and Japanese translation in HTML and in PDF .

  TRIZ Forum: From the Editor: "Global Network of Public Web Sites in TRIZ: A Proposal for Building Global TRIZ Community" (2) (Nov. 16, 2008)

Toru Nakagawa, Editor of the "TRIZ Home Page in Japan" (OGU), Poster Presented at ETRIA TRIZ Future 2008 Conference, Held at University of Twente, Enschede, Netherlands, on Nov. 5 - 7, 2008.
On the proposal which I posted here on May 25, 2008, I have newly made several illustrative drawings and presented them as an additional Poster at the ETRIA TFC 2008.  Various types of Web sites are considered from 4 different aspects: (1) ways of posting, (2) ways of reading, (3) ways of financial support, and (4) ways of description language.  Desirable ways of Public Web sites are shown from these 4 aspects.  The vision of the Global Network of Public Web sites having both Outward-Looking and In-ward Looking Windows is illustrated in a slide.  The 10 slides well illustrate my original proposal.  English version in HTML  and in  PDF , and Japanese translation in HTML and in PDF .

  TRIZ Paper:"A Brief History of TRIZ" (Nov. 16, 2008)

Valeri Souchkov (ICG Training & Consulting, Netherlands), Posted in the Web Site of ICG Training & Consulting, May 2008; Japanese translation by Toru Nakagawa (OGU), Oct. 8, 2008
This article describes when and how the so many tools and methods of TRIZ have been developed.  The works and events are summarized in the chronological manner, for the whole range of the TRIZ methodology up to the recent days.  A valuable article for mid- to upper-level TRIZ learners.  Japanese translation is posted in this Web site.  The English page gives the introduction and a link to the original version in the ICG Web site.

  TRIZ Paper: "40 Inventive Principles in Microelectronics"   (Nov. 16, 2008)

Gennady Retseptor (AVX Israel Ltd., Israel), posted in the TRIZ Journal, Aug. 2002; Japanese translation by Katsusuke Ichikawa, Oct. 22, 2008
The original paper was posted in the TRIZ Journal 6 years ago.  K. Ichikawa, a retired engineer from Shin-Dengen Kogyo, Ltd., has voluntarily translated it into Japanese and contributed to this Web site.  He actually translated it long ago and read it often during his R&D work in microelectronics for enhancing his own ideas, Ichikawa says.

  On the 10th Anniversary Day of  "TRIZ Home Page in Japan":  Toru Nakagawa (Nov. 1, 2008)

      This Web site "TRIZ Home Page in Japan" celebrates today its 10th Anniversary together with readers in Japan and over the world.  This site is to promote the understanding and real usage of TRIZ by openly publishing information and communications related to TRIZ on not-for-profit basis.  Though I have been operating this site as a volunteer, this site is not a personal but a public forum to be composed of the contributions by readers, as you see already.  It is intended to publish most pages in Japanese and in English in parallel for the purpose of mutual understanding and collaboration between Japanese and overseas TRIZ learners/practitioners.  On the basis of these experiences, I am now advocating the vision of "A Global TRIZ Community intermediated by Pubic Web Sites built in different TRIZ Communities" for overcoming the language barriers .  During last one year we had over 30600 visits to the top page in Japanese and over 5000 visits to that in English.  Readers' contributions either in English or in Japanese are heartily welcome. We wish that "TRIZ Home Page in Japan" continues to help readers understand and apply TRIZ better in their real problems.
       The pages under this directory are the English versions.  Click the hyper-linked keywords or the  buttons.  Pages written in Japanese are accessible by clicking the buttons.

Forum: Conference Report (20): "Personal Report of The Fourth TRIZ Symposium in Japan, 2008 (Held by the Japan TRIZ Society on Sept. 10-12, 2008, at Laforet Biwako, Japan)" (Oct. 26, 2008)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Oct. 26, 2008
The Japan TRIZ Symposium 2008 was held with the participation of 180 people (including 15 from abroad) and 46 presentations.  Besides the official reports and documents (to be posted later) , the Symposium is reported here personally by reviewing all the presentations.  This report in English is posted both in HTML and in PDF (65 printed pages, 4.2 MB).  The review covers the two Keynote Lectures by Amir Roggel and by Sergei Ikovenko, an Invited talk by Yojiro Fukushima, and all the contributed papers presented either in the Oral or Poster Session.  The papers are reviewed according to their categories, e.g., Methodologies, Industrial case studies, Promotion in industries, Usage in education and in academia, Patent research, Non-technical applications, etc.  You can see how TRIZ is understood, applied, and promoted in Japan.  (Japanese page just contains links at moment ; the summary will be posted after my coming back from ETRIA TFC.)]  

  TRIZ/USIT Forum: "Comments on “Extension of USIT in Japan: A New Paradigm for Creative Problem Solving” Toru Nakagawa"   (Sept. 18, 2008)

Ed Sickafus (Ntelleck, LLC, USA), Aug. 23, 2008
Comments by Ed Sickafus, the developer of USIT, on Nakagawa's paper presented at Japan TRIZ Symposium 2008.  Sickafus says the transition from TRIZ to SIT to USIT has been guided by simplification, i.e. to reduce structure and to reveal the underlying logic. (See his Keynote Lecture at Japan TRIZ Symposium 2006.)  He recognizes that USIT in Japan is 'regressing' to TRIZ in order to address the demands in Japanese industrial environment.  He suggests about his experimental projects of 4-membered USIT team to address the bottom line of the company.

  TRIZ/USIT Paper: "Extension of USIT in Japan: A New Paradigm for Creative Problem Solving"   (Sept. 18, 2008)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Presented at The Fourth TRIZ Symposium in Japan, Held by Japan TRIZ Society on Sept. 10-12, 2008 at Laforet Biwako, Moriyama, Shiga, Japan
I have reviewed how USIT was introduced in Japan and has been extended in Japan for these 10 years. (1) I introduced USIT into Japan as an easy-to-learn TRIZ.  It forms a basis of my 'Slow-but-Steady Strategy' of introducing TRIZ into Japan.  (2) We reorganized all the solution generation methods in TRIZ into the framework of USIT and constructed a system of USIT Operators, having 5 principal methods and 32 sub-methods.  This makes USIT a next-generation TRIZ, forming a basis of 'Steady Strategy' of penetrating TRIZ in Japan.  (3) Data-flow representation of USIT gave the concept of 'Six Box Scheme', which has been realized as a New Paradigm for Creative Problem Solving.  (4) Teaching to university students and training of industrial engineers have been established, and applications to real industrial projects have been carried out in companies.  With all these activities, USIT has been contributing to promote TRIZ in a way easy to learn and apply, i.e. a unique feature of the TRIZ community in Japan in comparison to other countries.  In the English page: Paper , paper in PDF, slides in PDF; In the Japanese page: Paper, paper in PDF, and slides in PDF.

  TRIZ Forum: IT & TRIZ book: "Japanese Translation Project of Mishra's IT & TRIZ Book: "TRIZ Principles for Information Technology" Preliminary Sample Edition" (Sept. 7, 2008)

Masatoshi Hotta (Sozo Kaihatsu Initiative) and Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Sept. 7, 2008
The Japanese Translation Project has completed its first draft of the whole volume by the end of July.  The Author, on the other hand, has been working for the brushing up of the whole book and sent us the 'final revised version' by early August.  Thus we are working further for brushing up our translation manuscripts so as to reflect the Author's final version.  We have just prepared a 'Preliminary Sample Edition' for displaying at the 4th TRIZ Symposium in Japan.  Some early readers of our manuscripts say "This book explains quite different IT & software techniques from aspects of principles.  The descriptions are interesting and useful for software engineers without knowing TRIZ."

  TRIZ Paper: "No Need for Methods?"   (Sept. 7, 2008)

Peter Schweizer (MethoSys GmbH, Switzerland), Presented at ETRIA "TRIZ Future 2007" Conference, Held at Frankfurt am Main, Germany on Nov. 6 - 8, 2007
An interesting paper discussing about the people's psychological reactions to TRIZ and how we should promote TRIZ. Paper and the presentation slides are posted in PDF in English and also in Japanese translation by Mitsuo Morihisa.  Nakagawa's introduction is also posted by taking from my 'Personal Report of ETRIA TFC 2007'.

  TRIZ Reference: List of TRIZ Books in Japanese Updated (Jul. 10, 2008)

Toru Nakagawa (OGU), Osamu Ikeda (Nikon), and Yuji Shindo (MRI Research Associates), Jul. 10, 2008.
A list of TRIZ reference books published in Japanese has been updated.  30 books and 3 Proceedings are listed. List of books in PDF , Annotated list  with links to detailed table of contents. 

  TRIZ Forum: From the Editor: Global Network of Public Web Sites in TRIZ: A Proposal for Building Global TRIZ Community (May 25, 2008)

Toru Nakagawa (OGU), May 24, 2008.
When I rebuilt my page of 'TRIZ Links in the World', I felt much that the language barriers have preventing TRIZ from its better understanding and smoother penetration in the World.  As a practical solution to this problem, I am now proposing here "Let's build many Public Web sites in TRIZ in different TRIZ communities in the World and form a Global Network of them".  Each Public Web site plays the role of the hub site in TRIZ in the community (i.e., typically a country), and posts various papers/articles contributed by many authors under fair leadership of the Editor(s). It posts papers/articles/news of the outside world after translating them into their own language, and also posts the works and news of their own after translating them into a common language, i.e. English.  By forming a global network in Internet of such Public Web sites in different communities, we can build an autonomous and sound TRIZ community in the global scale.  This model of Public Web sites was established partly by the TRIZ Journal and in a more typical form by the TRIZ Home Page in Japan.  There are also other possible bases of forming such Public Web sites in various countries, as discussed in the text.  Full text in English and Abstract only in Japanese . 

  TRIZ Links: "TRIZ Links" Are Rebuilt (continued): [3] Selected 50 TRIZ Sites in the World ; [4] Extended 120 TRIZ Sites in the World , and [5] Users' 80 TRIZ Presentations in Japan (May 4, 2008)

Compiled by Toru Nakagawa (OGU), May 4, 2008.
The pages of TRIZ Links in the World have be rebuilt completely.  After Google searches and tracing various TRIZ link pages, the pages of each site were browsed to learn their nature, contents, and features, even under the limitations of difficulties caused by many different languages.  120 Sites in the World (outside Japan) are listed with brief description for each site.  The sites are arranged according to their geographical regions/countries, to learn the TRIZ activities in various countries.  In the top page, Selected 50 Sites in the World (outside Japan) are listed. 
For the purpose of learning the users' activities in TRIZ, all the papers and articles publicly presented by Japanese users are listed according to their organizations.  80 TRIZ articles presented by 35 different organizations (i.e. industries, universities, study groups, etc.) are listed in the Japanese page .   

  TRIZ Links: "TRIZ Links" Are Rebuilt: [1] Selected TRIZ Links in Japan and in the World ; [2] Extended TRIZ Links in Japan (Apr. 13, 2008)

Compiled by Toru Nakagawa (OGU), Apr. 12, 2008.
It has long been requested (mostly by Japanese readers) to update the (7-year old) TRIZ Links in this Home Page. The Link pages are now rebuilt as follows: [1] Selected TRIZ Links in Japan and in the World are now posted both in English and in Japanese.  (The Japanese page lists up about 30 sites in Japan, whereas the English page only about 10 sites in Japan.)  [2] Extended TRIZ Links in Japan (about 100 sites) are posted in the Japanese page classified in 9 categories.  (This page will not be translated into English.)  Extended TRIZ Links in the World will be posted in English in a week or two.

  USIT Lecture: "Heuristic Innovation and its Development" (Mar. 30, 2008)

Ed Sickafus (Ntelleck, LLC, USA), U-SIT and Think News Letter - 69 , Mar. 19, 2007; Japanese translation  by Hideaki Kosha (Fuji Film), Keishi Kawamo (formerly Shibaura Inst. of Tech.), and Toru Nakagawa (OGU), Mar. 26, 2008
[Dr. Ed Sickafus, the developer of USIT, gave a Keynote Lecture at Japan TRIZ Symposium 2006 and talked about the idea of extending (or revolving) USIT further.  He completed the idea into the method of 'Heuristic Innovation' (HI) and published a textbook.  In March 2007, i.e. a year ago, he announced this new book in his USIT News Letter .  In the NL, he describes the history in his mental process of developing the HI methodology and introduced HI.  The developer of USIT tried to extend USIT further by use of USIT itself.  While he was thinking what is the undesirable effect in USIT, he met cognitive psychology and realized that USIT gives emphasis on logic, mostly performed by the left hemisphere of our brain, but does not utilize intuition, mostly performed in the right hemisphere.  Even in case of structured problem solving methodology, people who have really mastered it would use it much freely without depending on the process rigorously.  The HI methodology has made such freeness explicitly.  For stimulating intuition, the author advises to utilize metaphors; not only verbal metaphors but also more importantly nonverbal ones such as sketches and diagrams.  This essay has dynamic and deep insights.]

  TRIZ Papers: "Theory of Resolving Differences: A Collection of Papers Written by Toshio Takahara (2003-2007) with Annotated Bibliography" (Mar. 30, 2008)

Toshio Takahara, Dec. 27, 2007
[This page contains all the 14 papers published by Toshio Takahara for these five years and a brief guide to these papers.  The 'Difference' stands for the gap between the reality and what we want or what should be.  Recognition of such Differences and trials of resolving them are the fundamentals in human activities, the Author understands.  Such human activities take various forms and phases, including goal setting, problem recognition, designing, problem solving, etc.  The Author is trying to present a unified method of understanding and representing the whole process of Resolving Differences.  Behind the Author's unique and hence not-easy-to-adopt terminologies, I realized the clarity in the representations and the significance of the theory last October when I was reviewing his paper presented at Japan TRIZ Symposium 2007.  So I asked the Author to record and post all his works here together.]   

  TRIZ Forum: IT & TRIZ book: "Japanese Translation Project of Mishra's IT & TRIZ Book: "TRIZ Principles for Information Technology" (TIC, 2007) " (Mar. 9, 2008)

Masatoshi Hotta (Sozo Kaihatsu Initiative) and Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Mar. 2, 2008
[We have started an English page for reporting the progress of our Japanese Translation Project of Umakant Mishra's book, which was introduced here last August .  Corresponding to our Japanese page , some important parts of the book are posted here in English under the kind permissions by the Author and by the English-edition publisher, Technical Innovation Center.  The following parts are posted in English (as well as in Japanese), for the purpose of introducing the book in advance to official publication especially to IT and software people in the world.  [1] Preface to the Japanese Edition (Manuscript by Toru Nakagawa), [2] Table of Contents (serving also as a list of 40 Inventive Principles for IT and Software) (by Mishra), [3] Introduction (by Mishra), and [4] Chapter 4: Asymmetry (by Mishra) (as a sample chapter of the main body of the book).]

  TRIZ Case Study: "Introduction of the Activity to Promote TRIZ for Engineer and its Application Examples in Hitachi GST"   (Mar. 9, 2008)

Toshihiro Arisaka, Kazushi Tsuwako, Hiroyuki Suzuki (Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Japan, Ltd. ), Presented at the Third TRIZ Symposium in Japan 2007 Held by 'Japan TRIZ CB' at TOSHIBA Kenshu Center, Yokohama, Japan, on Aug. 30 - Sept. 1, 2007
[For making TRIZ easy to access for engineers working in the field of HDD (Hard Disk Drive), the Authors made a table of converting technical terms in HDD into the Contradiction Matrix parameters and listed application examples in HDD area in correspondence to 40 Inventive Principles.  The paper demonstrates two interesting case studies of applying TRIZ: A hardware error recovery mechanism using low RPM operation, and a new design in an actuator mechanism.  English page contains Extended Abstract , Nakagawa's introduction and the Presentation slides in PDF ]

Keynote Lecture:  "Hierarchical TRIZ Algorithms" (Annotated slides, etc.)   (Feb. 27, 2008)

Larry Ball (Honeywell, USA), Annotated Slides of the Keynote Lecture Presented at The Third TRIZ Symposium in Japan (Held on Aug. 30 - Sept. 1, 2007 at TOSHIBA Kenshu Center, Yokohama), Nov. 5, 2007;
On our request, the Author has kindly provided us with the full annotation of his Keynote presentation slides. This annotation is very helpful for us to understand the Author's thoughts in the lecture.  The new manuscript has been translated into Japanese by Toshio Takahara and Toru Nakagawa, just as the previous articles by the Author.  The following articles related to this Keynote Lecture are posted newly (or linked to the previous ones) both in English and in Japanese in parallel.  (1) Extended Abstracts   , (2) Nakagawa's introduction (excerpt from Nakagawa's Personal Report)   , (3) Slides presented at the Keynote Lecture   , (4) Annotated slides of the Keynote Lecture   , (5) Example of Cause Analysis   , and (6) Series of postings of the Course Material (about 160 printed pages)   and corresponding eBook   .  I would like to recommend you these articles highly.

TRIZ Bibliography: List of TRIZ Selected Papers Written by Overseas Authors and Contributed to "TRIZ Home Page in Japan" since 1998 (Feb. 8, 2008)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Feb. 7, 2008
[Selected Papers in TRIZ are listed here; the papers written by Overseas (i.e. non-Japanese) authors and posted (or to be posted) in English and/or in Japanese in this Web site "TRIZ Home Page in Japan" for these 10 years since 1998.  All these are excellent papers I have learned much; many of them are openly available in English (or in Japanese) either in this Web site or in their original sources, but still many others are waiting for translation into Japanese and for posting.  We recently obtained the approval by TRIZCON and ETRIA of posting original English versions here after several months of the conference even prior to Japanese translation under the permissions by the authors and the conference organizers.]

From the Editor: To Do List for TRIZ (Volunteers Wanted!) (Feb. 8, 2008)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Feb. 5, 2008
[Selected papers from ETRIA TFC2007 are added in the list with brief introductions for the purpose of calling volunteers for translating them into Japanese.]

  TRIZ Case Study: "Challenge to Increase TRIZ Users: Original Tool Development at Miyagi TRIZ Society "Wisdom Cards" "   (Feb. 8, 2008)

Rikie Ishii (Dunamis Co., Ltd. / NEDO) and Toshinori Ito (Industrial Technology Institute, Miyagi Prefectural Government), Presented at the Third TRIZ Symposium in Japan 2007 Held by 'Japan TRIZ CB' at TOSHIBA Kenshu Center, Yokohama, Japan, on Aug. 30 - Sept. 1, 2007
[Presented in a poster session of Japan TRIZ Symposium and attracted and stimulated a large number of visitors.  TRIZ 40 Principles are made into a set of Playing cards for idea generation, with the design to be attractive for young engineers.  The two authors are working to penetrate TRIZ in the SMEs and in students in Miyagi Prefecture.  Introduction by Nakagawa in English, and the full paper and presentation slides in Japanese.  ]

Forum: Conference Report (19): "Personal Report of ETRIA "TRIZ Future 2007" Conference (Held by European TRIZ Association (ETRIA) on Nov. 6 - 8, 2007, at Frankfurt am Main, Germany)" (Feb. 8, 2008)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Jan. 30, 2008
[Annual TRIZ conference in Europe.  140 participants and 46 papers presented.  I have closely reviewed all the papers presented at the conference and introduced them here as a personal report for the people who are interested in TRIZ.  A number of universities in Europe are carrying out research in TRIZ and thus there seem to arise successful cases of collaboration among universities, industries, and consultancies for introducing and applying TRIZ.  There are a number of good presentations especially in the field of furthering TRIZ methodology itself, extending TRIZ for integral use with other relevant methods, penetration of TRIZ in university education, usage of patent databases with the eyes of TRIZ, etc.  Report in English in HTML and in PDF (89 printed pages, 4.7 MB), and its summary in Japanese . ]  

  TRIZ Forum: "Letters from the Readers"   (Jan. 29, 2008)

[1] "Reading "Application of TRIZ to Manufacturing Phase"": Kouji Tsumagari (LOGO), Dec. 28, 2007. (Posted: Jan. 29,2008)

[2] "Just like Having Won a Million Dollar Lot!": Katsuya Miyanishi (Panasonic Mobile Communications R&D Lab.). Jan. 10, 2008.  (Posted: Jan. 29,2008)

  TRIZ/USIT Case Study: "Technical Knowledge Transfer by USIT Application for Paper Handling Mechanism"   (Jan. 29, 2008)

Kunio Fukatsu (Toshiba Social Automation Systems), Presented at the Third TRIZ Symposium in Japan 2007 Held by 'Japan TRIZ CB' at TOSHIBA Kenshu Center, Yokohama, Japan, on Aug. 30 - Sept. 1, 2007
[Technical knowledge transfer is a current big issue in Japan because many active people in the after-war baby-boom generation are going to retire around the age of 60.  The Author has built an intensive intranet Web site of professional knowledge, but has realized its negative effect because such knowledge get obsolete rapidly.  Learning TRIZ/USIT recently, he has realized the need to transfer the capability of creative problem solving. He describes a case study carried out in a 2-day USIT Training Seminar. English page contains Nakagawa's introduction and the Presentation slides in PDF , whereas the Japanese page holds Extended Abstract and Presentation slides .]

  TRIZ Case Study: "Improvement of Material Properties of Printable Adhesive"   (Jan. 29, 2008)

Jae-Hoon Kim, Joon-mo Seo, Young-Ju Kang and Byoung-Un Kang (LS Cable, Ltd., Korea), Presented at the Third TRIZ Symposium in Japan 2007 Held by 'Japan TRIZ CB' at TOSHIBA Kenshu Center, Yokohama, Japan, on Aug. 30 - Sept. 1, 2007
[In the process of printing the adhesive on a PDB, the adhesive lifted up with the mask sometimes generates bubbles, breading-out, and clogging and they later cause various defects.  This problem was analyzed and solved by using various TRIZ tools in a standard way.  With the help of Effects knowledge base, the adhesive was improved in its properties on the basis of its microstructure.  This paper is useful because of its detailed description of the problem solving process. English page contains Abstract, Nakagawa's introduction, full paper in PDF and the Presentation slides in PDF .]

  TRIZ Case Study: "Application of Contradiction Table to Computer Architecture －Sub-matrix and Invention Principles for Computer Problems －"   (Jan. 7, 2008)

Toru Shonai (Hitachi, Japan), Shun Kawabe (Meisei University, Japan), and Naoki Hamanaka (Hitachi, Japan), Presented at the Third TRIZ Symposium in Japan 2007 Held by 'Japan TRIZ CB' at TOSHIBA Kenshu Center, Yokohama, Japan, on Aug. 30 - Sept. 1, 2007
[This case study paper is, as far as I know, the first publication in the world on the application of TRIZ to a real problem in the IT field.  The Authors worked on TRIZ for IT around 1999-2000 in the Central Research Lab of Hitachi, to adapt the Matrix parameters and Inventive Principles to the field of computer architecture and to make a reduced Contradiction Matrix for IT of size 14x14.  They also applied the Matrix to real problems such as the IT systems for Internet Data Center and succeeded to obtain patents and to implement the ideas in their company's products. English page contains Nakagawa's introduction and the Presentation slides in PDF , whereas the Japanese page holds Extended Abstract, Full paper, and Presentation slides .]

Posted in 2007

  TRIZ Case Study: "Application of TRIZ to Manufacturing Phase -- Case Study of Eliminating Defects in Printer Assembly Process --"   (Dec. 23, 2007)

Yosuke Koga ( Panasonic Communications Co.), Presented at the Third TRIZ Symposium in Japan 2007 Held by 'Japan TRIZ CB' at TOSHIBA Kenshu Center, Yokohama, Japan, on Aug. 30 - Sept. 1, 2007
[Excellent paper presented at the Japan TRIZ Symposium 2007. This case study is most impressive in many points: achieving to solve a big problem in a short time by generating many solution ideas, deriving effective measures, executing many measures at once, etc. In the photos of the slides we can see that people seriously got involved in this project and had experienced the change in their mind. This is also an excellent case study for stepping up the TQC style activities into much elaborated one with the philosophy of TRIZ. The page contains Abstract, Nakagawa's introduction, and the Presentation slides in PDF , besides the Japanese pages .]

  TRIZ Forum: IT & TRIZ book: "Japanese Translation Project of Mishra's IT & TRIZ Book:  "Collection of Problem Solving Ideas for IT and Software: Classified with TRIZ 40 Inventive Principles" " (Dec. 19, 2007; Jan. 7; Jan. 29; Feb. 8, 2008)

Masatoshi Hotta (Sozo Kaihatsu Initiatives) and Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Dec. 18, 2007
[We have officially started a project for translating into Japanese the Umakant Mishra's book with the original title of "TRIZ Principles for Information Technology" (see the page posted on Aug. 17, 2007).  In our Japanese page, we are going to post on project's aims, current status in progress, some examples of translated parts, related documents, etc., in order to introduce the book in advance to publication especially to IT and software people.  We have already posted [1] Preface to the Japanese Edition (Manuscript by Toru Nakagawa).  We are further going to post soon [2] Table of Contents (serving also as a list of 40 Inventive Principles for IT and Software) (Posted: Jan. 7, 2008), [3] Introduction (by Mishra, Japanese translation by Y. Konishi and T. Nakagawa)(Posted: Jan. 29, 2008), and [4] Chapter 4: Asymmetry (English/Japanese and Japanese (Posted: Feb. 8, 2008)) (as an example chapter of the main body of the book). We wish to publish the Japanese Edition during 2008.  Please inform of this book to your colleagues.]

  TRIZ Paper: "A Method of Resolving Differences Based on the Concepts of Functions and Process Objects: Part 2"   (Dec. 9, 2007)

Toshio Takahara ( ), Presented at the Third TRIZ Symposium in Japan 2007 Held by 'Japan TRIZ CB' at TOSHIBA Kenshu Center, Yokohama, Japan, on Aug. 30 - Sept. 1, 2007
[This is a highly theoretical paper. Though the paper was presented in a Poster session, full papers were published in the Proceedings and posted here both in English and in Japanese.  The Author's way of representing 'Cause-Effect Diagrams' is clear and informative (Nakagawa's 'Personal Report of the TRIZ Symposium' explains this portion of the paper).  With the term of 'Resolving differences', the Author is trying to make a new integrated framework of problem solving, making new function, and idealization.  The paper is difficult to understand, but I now feel a new integral theory is emerging here.  The page contains Nakagawa's introduction, Extended Abstract, and the full paper in PDF .]

  Introduction Series of USIT (5) (Final): "Introduction to USIT: A Simple Method for Creative Problem Solving. Part 5: Practices of USIT"  (Dec. 9, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "Machine Design " (published by Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun), Dec. 2007, pp. 89-97, (published on Nov. 10, 2007)
Practices of learning, applying, and mastering USIT are explained. (1) For what purposes can we use USIT?; (2) How can we learn it?; (3) Trainings of USIT [Bringing in real problems and solving them by multi-company engineers; Agenda of 2-Day USIT Training Seminar]; (4) Key points foe mastering USIT [Problem finding and problem definition phase; Problem analysis phase; Phases of idea generation and solution construction; Solution implementation phase; The roles of TRIZ in the USIT procedure]; (5) Practices and promotion of USIT [How to penetrate, apply, and fix USIT in organizations; Application activities of USIT; Practice method of solving real problems in a short period]; (6) Case studies of promoting TRIZ/USIT; (7) Concluding remarks.   Short summary of the Series in English .

  TRIZ/USIT Case Study Paper: "Education and Training of Creative Problem Solving Thinking with TRIZ/USIT"   (Nov. 18, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Presented at ETRIA 'TRIZ Future Conference 2007' held on Nov. 6 - 8, 2007 at Frankfurt on Main, Germany
[This paper reports my experiences of training industry engineers and educating undergraduate students on how to think creatively with TRIZ/USIT in problem solving. The focus is what to teach them. I gradually shifted my emphasis from TRIZ to USIT.  For training engineers, 2-Day USIT Training with group practices of real problem solving is found effective.  For educating students, giving motivations and basic knowledge is necessary for the education of TRIZ/USIT concepts.  Case studies of technical and everyday-life problems are useful for both targets of people. English HTML page , full paper in PDF, and presentation slides . Abstracts in Japanese .]

Forum: Symposium Presentation and Discussion: "Introducing TRIZ into Thailand " (Nov. 18, 2007)

Position Paper by Kritaya Suparnpongs, Saranya Chandravat, Chiraphon Rayakaeo, and Yuthapong Matejitkul (SCG, Thailand), Presented at The Third TRIZ Symposium in Japan, on September 1, 2007 at Toshiba Kenshu Center, Yokohama; Note of Discussion during the Special Session.
[A record of the 'Special Session' held on the third day of Japan TRIZ Symposium.  Four participants from Thailand gave a joint presentation on their current positions of introducing TRIZ into their country in the form of extension of and integration with their TQM activities.  After the presentation, on request by the people from Thailand, TRIZ leaders on the floor made free discussions to suggest/advise how to introduce TRIZ into Thailand (or any other country).  Brief (20 minutes) but friendly and positive discussions were done.  Notes were checked and annotated by the discussants.  HTML page , presentation slides , and discussion note .]  

Forum: Conference Report (18): "Personal Report of The Third TRIZ Symposium in Japan, 2007 (Held by the Collaborative Board of TRIZ Promoters and Users in Japan on Aug. 30 - Sept. 1, 2007, at Yokohama, Japan)" (Nov. 18, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Nov. 14, 2007
[Besides the official documents reported in    , the Japan TRIZ Symposium 2007 is introduced here to you personally by reviewing all the presentations.  This report in English is shown both in HTML and in PDF (78 printed pages, 2939 KB).  The review covers the two Keynote Lectures by Larry Ball and by Simon Dewulf, and three invited talks given by T. Hayashi, S. Tamai, and N. Okuzumi, respectively.  Many presentations given by Japanese industry people (and all others) are reviewed/explained closely with citing several slides for each.  You can see not only the TRIZ activities in Japan but also how TRIZ is understood and applied in Japan.  The policy of this Symposium, i.e., 'Primarily Japanese National AND partially (but as much as possible) International' can be seen in this report. In Japanese, abstracts only are posted . ]  

  Introduction Series of TRIZ (22) (Final): "How to Introduce, Apply, and Promote TRIZ/USIT (2) Case Studies Recently Published " (Part 22 of "TRIZ: Creative Problem Solving Methodology for Innovation") (Nov. 18, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "InterLab" (Optronics Ltd.), Oct. & Nov. 2007, pp. 48-55, (published on Oct. 15, 2007)
[Introduction to TRIZ, Part 22 of a long-run series.  Optronics Ltd. decided to stop publishing its monthly journal "InterLab", and this TRIZ Series will finish with this issue.  I am grateful to Optronics for the valuable opportunities of writing this series.  In the Final issue, 8 real case studies are introduced to help readers understand the current active usage of TRIZ/USIT around the world. (1) International conferences in TRIZ; (2) Case Studies in Technologies [Stainless Steel Frameworks of joint structure without weldering; Corrosion protection in ship building; Novel 'motors' invented by V. Perna; Preventing static electric discharge in semiconductor devices; Insulated wire-bonding technology]; (3) Case Studies in IT/Software field [A big shift in IT: 'On Demand'; Mishra's new book "TRIZ Principles for IT/Software"; Auto-locking door system in apartment buildings].  In HTML and in PDF (518 KB).

  TRIZ Forum: From the Editor: "The Role of 'TRIZ Home Page in Japan': Towards a Public Site"  (Nov. 1, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Nov. 1, 2007 (posted: Nov. 1, 2007)
On the 9th Anniversary day of "TRIZ Home Page in Japan", I describe about the current situations and the target direction of this site.  Since the Japan TRIZ CB finishes its role, its Official Pages which have been hosted in my Web site are now fixed without new updates (and without removing).  The Japan TRIZ Society has opened its Official Web Site in its own server and has (temporarily) started its operation.  Under the situations, The "TRIZ Home Page in Japan" continues to be edited and operated by Toru Nakagawa with the hope of serving as a 'Public Web Site'.  It means that this site should not be a private site but intends to be a public one which accepts contributions by many authors and readers (in Japan and the world) and publicizes various TRIZ-related information actively from public viewpoints.  A lot of things should be done for this purpose, and several tasks are now back-logged.  I should very much appreciate your voluntary support for such a goal.

  Introduction Series of USIT (4): "Introduction to USIT: A Simple Method for Creative Problem Solving. Part 4: Creative Solution Generation with USIT"  (Nov. 1, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "Machine Design " (published by Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun), Nov. 2007, pp. 100-107, (published on Oct. 10, 2007)
As an introductory article, the methods of USIT in its latter half part of procedure are explained by using the two case studies of everyday-life problems described earlier in Part 2.  (1) Outline of the Solution Generation Stages in the Six-Box Scheme in USIT [Notes on the representation with data-flow diagram; The meaning of 'Ideas for the new system'; The Idea generation phase in USIT; The Solution construction phase in USIT; The Solution implementation phase]; (2) The USIT Operators [Establishing the USIT Operators; Overview of the USIT Operators; Examples and usage of USIT Operators; Thinking procedure and guidelines of USIT Operators]; (3) Guided thinking in the Solution Generation Phases [Ways of thinking with the images of ideals;  Solving contradictions and USIT Solution Combination Methods; Hierarchical system of solutions].   Short summary of the Series in English .

  Announcement: Larry Ball's Course Material "Hierarchical TRIZ Algorithms" is now available in CD-R Edition in Japanese. (Nov. 1, 2007)

The illustrated Course Material translated by Toshio Takahara and Toru Nakagawa nd posted in "TRIZ Home Page in Japan" is now available in CD-R Edition from Sozo Kaihatsu Initiative Co. (SKI).  160 pages, 5250 yen.  The series posted in this Web site will not be removed. 

  On the Ninth Anniversary Day of  "TRIZ Home Page in Japan":  Toru Nakagawa (Nov. 1, 2007)

      This Web site "TRIZ Home Page in Japan" celebrates today its Ninth Anniversary together with readers in Japan and over the world.  This site is to promote the understanding and real usage of TRIZ by openly publishing information and communications related to TRIZ on not-for-profit basis.  Though I have been operating this site as a volunteer, this site is not a personal but a public forum to be composed of the contributions by readers, as you see already.  (The Official Pages of the 'Collaborative Board of TRIZ Promoters and Users in Japan' posted in this site are now fixed as they are, because the CB has finished its role and its successor, The Japan TRIZ Society, has opened its Official Web site in its own server.) It is intended to publish most pages in Japanese and in English in parallel for the purpose of mutual understanding and collaboration between Japanese and overseas TRIZ learners/practitioners.  During last one year we had over 34000 visits to the top page in Japanese and over 4900 visits to that in English.  Readers' contributions either in English or in Japanese are heartily welcome. We wish that "TRIZ Home Page in Japan" continues to help readers understand and apply TRIZ better in their real problems.
       The pages under this directory are the English versions.  Click the hyper-linked keywords or the  buttons.  Pages written in Japanese are accessible by clicking the buttons.

  Introduction Series of USIT (3): "Introduction to USIT: A Simple Method for Creative Problem Solving. Part 3: Problem Definition and Analysis with USIT"  (Oct. 15, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "Machine Design " (published by Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun), Oct. 2007, pp. 90-96, (published on Sept. 10, 2007)
As an introductory article, the methods of USIT in its first half part of procedure are explained by using the two case studies of everyday-life problems described earlier in Part 2.  (1) Overview of the Problem Definition and Problem Analysis [Problem definition and problem analysis; Concepts of Objects-Attributes-Functions]; (2) How to Define the Problem [Well-defined problem in USIT; Remarks on the problem definition phase]; (3) Problem Analysis: Understanding the Present System [Analysis of space characteristics; Analysis of time characteristics; Understanding the functional relationships in the present system; Understanding the attributes involved in the problem of the present system]; (4) Problem Analysis: Understanding the Ideal System [Significance of considering the ideal system in the problem analysis phase; To imagine the ideal results; Magical Particles (Smart Little People); Application example of the Particles Method].   Short summary of the Series in English .

  TRIZ/USIT Case Study Paper: "How to Prevent Unauthorized Persons from Entering the Auto-locking Door of Apartment Building: Applying TRIZ/USIT to A Social & Technical Problem"   (Sept. 13, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa and Arata Fujita (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Presented at the Third TRIZ Symposium in Japan Held by 'Japan TRIZ CB' at TOSHIBA Kenshu Center, Yokohama, Japan, on Aug. 30 - Sept. 1, 2007
This paper is an extension of Fujita's Thesis work supervised by Nakagawa.  A concise case study of solving everyday-life problem.  Residential apartment building equips auto-locking door system at the entrance.  However unauthorized persons can enter the door easily simply by following a resident, during about 10 seconds of the open door.  This is not a pure technical problem, but rather the problem in the psychology of residents who allow and in the lack of social consensus what to do when two groups happen to meet at the door.  With the discussion in the Thesis Class, the root causes of the problem were revealed to find solutions.  Rules are now displayed clearly that inside the door is a private zone, that every group must get authenticated, that the authentication should be done regardless the door is open or closed, and that the group should input the current number of members, etc.  At the same time, a new control system with real-time image recognition capability is installed in order to monitor the number of people who entered the door, and to alarm when any person enters the door exceeding the number of authenticated persons.  The door is mechanically and physically operated slowly as before for the sake of safety, but an invisible logical door based on information processing is working instantaneously to show signs, notices, and alarms.  In this manner the problem of human psychology and social rule is solved and the new rule is ensured by a new technical system.  An expert in the security problem commented me 'a cool solution!' in the Symposium.  Extended Abstract , Abstract of the Thesis , Full paper in Japanese , and presentation slides are posted. ]

  TRIZ Case Study Paper: "Super Effects: The Synergistic Effects of TRIZ (The Theory of Inventive Problem Solving): Significance of the Insulated Wirebonding Technology X-Wire"   (Sept. 13, 2007)

Gunter Ladewig (PRIMA Performance Ltd., Canada) and Robert Lyn (Microbonds Inc., Canada), Presented at TRIZCON2007: The 9th Annual Altshuller Institute for TRIZ Studies Conference, Held at Louisville, Kentucky, USA, on Apr. 23-25, 2007.
Japanese translation by Katsunori Ishikawa (Shindengen Electric Manufacturing) and Toru Nakagawa (OGU), Sept. 6, 2007
[This is an excellent case study presented at TRIZCON2007.  In semiconductor devices, the performance of the chip is limited by the interconnection between chips and between chip and substrate.  The current wirebonding technology with non-insulated wires uses only the peripherals of chips for the connection.  More advanced technology is currently the Area Array Flip Chip.  With reference to the TRIZ Trends of Evolution (especially the Geometrical Evolution of Lines), the phase of 2D lines/curves has not been fully deployed and skipped without solving contradictions, the Author says. They have developed the insulated wires, developed a kit to use the insulated wires on the ordinary widely-spread wirebonding equipments.  Their new technology ('X-Wire') can make wirebonding densely and freely without worrying about shortening. The new technology would make a lot of chain reactions of benefits (so called 'Super Effects') in the semiconductor industries, the Authors expect.  It is remarkable that TRIZ has given a clear guideline in the technology development.  Nakagawa evaluated this paper highly in his Personal Report of TRIZCON. Japanese translation of the paper has been posted in HTML and in PDF .  In the English pages, Nakagawa's introduction in HTML and the original paper in PDF are posted.]

  Introduction Series of TRIZ (21): "Basic Concepts in TRIZ (7) Basic Scheme for Problem Solving" (Part 21 of "TRIZ: Creative Problem Solving Methodology for Innovation") (Sept. 13, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "InterLab" (Optronics Ltd.), Sept. 2007, pp. 25-28, (published on Aug. 15, 2007)
[Introduction to TRIZ, Part 21 of a long-run series.  Basic concepts of TRIZ are explained one by one.  Basic scheme for problem solving, i.e., not the process of individual methods but the overall general process of problem solving in TRIZ is discussed. (1) Analogical Thinking and ET Thinking [Being enlightened with a hint; Equivalent Transformation Thinking by Kikuya Ichikawa]; (2) Solving at the abstract level in the 'Four-Box Scheme' [Four-Box Scheme of problem solving; Significance of the Four-Box Scheme in problem solving; Four-Box Scheme in various methods of TRIZ; Limitation and change in the Four-Box Scheme]; (3) 'Six-Box Scheme of creative problem solving in USIT [Describing the overall structure of problem solving in USIT; Six-Box Scheme of problem solving in USIT; Features and significance of the Six-Box Scheme].  In HTML and in PDF (311 KB).

  Introduction Series of USIT (2): "Introduction to USIT: A Simple Method for Creative Problem Solving. Part 2: Simple Case Studies of USIT"  (Aug. 17, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "Machine Design " (published by Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun), Sept. 2007, pp. 92-98, (published on Aug. 10, 2007)
As an introductory article, two case studies of everyday-life problems are demonstrated through out the whole process of problem solving with USIT.  Both of them are taken from the thesis works of my students at OGU.  (1) Overall structure of problem solving with USIT.  (2) How to prevent the staple from being crashed [Problem definition; Problem analysis; A new understanding of the problem; The idea for a new system; Generating the solution concept with Smart Little People's Modeling; Constructing a solution]; (3) How to fix a string shorter than the needle [Problem definition, Analysis of time characteristics and space characteristics; Analysis of functions; Analysis of attributes (or properties of components); Various known solutions; Building an image of ideal system; Generating solution ideas; A novel tool made of a straw; A novel needle specialized for making a knot; Remarks on the idea generation stage of this case].   Short summary in English .

  TRIZ Forum: IT & TRIZ book: "Introduction: Umakant Mishra's Draft Edition of "TRIZ Principles for Information Technology" " ) (Aug. 17, 2007; Sept. 13, 2007; Dec. 19, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Aug. 17, 2007
[This is an introduction to a new book written by Umakant Mishra (India) and prepublished from Technical Innovation Center (USA) as a draft edition.  In this book, all sorts of techniques in the field of IT, mostly software, are collected and classified with respect to the essences of innovative/improving ideas of them according to the TRIZ 40 Inventive Principles.  In this process, the TRIZ 40 Principles need to be explained, adopted, extended, and modified so as to match the IT/software field; the Author has done this work excellently, I have found. The book describes 1000 items of techniques (in 1-3 lines each), 100 patents (in 10-20 lines), and 100 case studies of techniques (in 10-20 lines) according to the hierarchical classification of Principles, subprinciples, and keyword items.  So far we heard many people say 'TRIZ is not applicable to IT/software field'.  This book is a wonderful collection proving that 'TRIZ is applicable everywhere in IT/software field'.  I wish to translate this book into Japanese and to publish (or more exactly get it published) in Japanese edition.  I think this book should be addressed not to small TRIZ audience but to much larger IT/software audience; thus the book title would better be something like "Innovative Ideas in IT/Software Technologies Classified with TRIZ Inventive Principles".  My Japanese page is composed of (1) Introduction of this book (an excerpt of my 'Personal Report of TRIZCON2007'), (2) Contents of the book shown by outlines and examples, and (3) Request of volunteers for the translation project. (The page has been fully translated into English. (Sept. 13, 2007))
Japanese translation project has started officially. Preface for the Japanese Edition (Manuscript, by Nakagawa) is posted in a Japanese page. (Dec. 19, 2007) ].

  TRIZ Case Study Paper: "New Motor and TRIZ Evaluation"   (Aug. 17, 2007)

Vratislav Perna (PERNA Motors, Czech Republic), Bohuslav Bušov (Brno Univ. of Tech., Czech Rep.), and Pavel Jirman (Tech. Univ. of Liberec, Czech Rep.), Presented at ETRIA World Conference 'TRIZ Future 2006' Held at Kortrijk, Belgium, on Oct. 9-11, 2006.
Japanese translation by Masahiro Saitoh (Yanmar Co.) and Toru Nakagawa (OGU), Aug. 4, 2007
[This is a paper on an amazing invention and its evaluation with TRIZ.  The invention is a new type of Motor (in its basic meaning of 'generating motion') which does not use electricity.  The invention is 'A new type of Motor having two (or multiple) rotors of nonlinear spiral teeth'.  Though ordinary combustion engines generate reciprocal motions of a piston, the new motor generates rotational motions of shafts directly.  By applying a part of this invention concept, pumps and screws (or marine propeller) can be realized.  In fact, the authors built a new type of marine propeller and demonstrated it successfully in a public experiment.  The area of application of this invention is supposed to cover combustion engines, Diesel engines, rotary engines, turbines, electric motors, pumps, compressors, vacuum pumps, propellers, marine propellers, etc.  Reading this brief introduction, you must feel confusing, puzzled, and unbelievable; then why don't you read the original paper three times closely.  As a matter of fact the new marine propeller was demonstrated successfully in May 2004.  I reported this paper in my 'Personal Report of ETRIA TFC2007' .  Japanese translation of the paper has been posted in HTML and in PDF .  In the English pages, Nakagawa's introduction in HTML and the original paper in PDF are posted.]

  Introduction Series of TRIZ (20): "Basic Concepts in TRIZ (6) Contradictions and Their Resolutions " (Part 20 of "TRIZ: Creative Problem Solving Methodology for Innovation") (Aug. 17, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "InterLab" (Optronics Ltd.), Aug. 2007, pp. 31-34, (published on Jul. 15, 2007)
[Introduction to TRIZ, Part 20 of a long-run series.  Basic concepts of TRIZ are explained one by one.  Concepts of contradictions and the methods to resolve them are the real core part of TRIZ and significant contributions to the methodology of innovation in general.  (1) Technical contradictions and the method with the Contradiction Matrix. [Trade-offs and optimization; Resolution with the Contradiction Matrix; The intrinsic nature of the Contradiction Matrix method.]; (2) Physical contradictions and their resolution methods [Position of the Physical Contradictions;  Solving Physical Contradictions with the Separation Principles; Case study of a water-saving toilet system; dialectics;  How to derive the Physical Contradictions; Extension of the conditions for separating Physical Contradictions; The basic idea of Solution Combination Method; Resolving contradictions without formalizing the contradictions]. HTML page and PDF file (270 KB) .

  Introduction Series of USIT (1): "Introduction to USIT: A Simple Method for Creative Problem Solving. Part 1: What is USIT? FAQ"  (Jul. 22, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "Machine Design " (published by Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun), Aug. 2007, pp. 56-63, (published on Jul. 10, 2007)
Starting a new series of articles for the introduction of USIT.  So far I have written many introductory articles on TRIZ, with reviewing various trends in TRIZ in the world; in such articles, USIT has been mentioned part by part in different contexts.  In this new series of 5 Parts, I am going to explain USIT in its entire form with minimum mentioning to TRIZ.  Part 1 explains the overall view of USIT in the Q&A style with the novice. (1) Introduction; (2) What is USIT? Its History of Development; (3) Information Sources and Textbooks of USIT; (4) Motive and Features of USIT; (5) Process of Problem Solving with USIT; (6) Practices in USIT; (7) Penetration Status and Significance of USIT.  Short summary in English .

  Series: Course Materials Illustrated (15) (Final!): "Hierarchical TRIZ Algorithms" ('Detailed' parts) "J. Implement the Solution" , "M. Appendix: System Evolution" , "N. Appendix. Miscellaneous" , (Jul. 22, 2007)

Larry Ball (Honeywell, USA), Posted in TRIZ Journal since May, 2005; Translated into Japanese by Toshio Takahara and Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Jul. 21, 2007.
[15th and final posting of the intensive Course Material on a simplified form of TRIZ.  Chapter J is a nice instruction: Refine the concepts; Prototype individual solutions; COmbine solutions; File or patents; Public testing; and Sell the invention. -- We now have finished posting the Japanese translation of the whole volume (about 160 pages) of this instructive course material.  It took full 2 years.  We will be very happy to receive the Author in the Keynote Lecture at our Third TRIZ Symposium in Japan soon in coming August.]

  Introduction Series of TRIZ (19): "Basic Concepts in TRIZ (5) Resources and How to Utilize Them Fully" (Part 19 of "TRIZ: Creative Problem Solving Methodology for Innovation") (Jul. 22, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "InterLab" (Optronics Ltd.), Jul. 2007, pp. 39-42, (published on Jun. 15, 2007)
[Introduction to TRIZ, Part 19 of a long-run series.  Basic concepts of TRIZ are explained one by one.  (1) What are Resources in TRIZ? [Ordinary meaning of the word resources; Meaning of Resources in TRIZ]; (2) Introducing Various Types of Resources [Purpose of thinking of Resources in TRIZ; Different types of Resources; Resources in the form of Evolution Potential]; (3) "Introduce Resources and reduce Resources" [Ideality requires the reduction of Resources; Introduce AND reduce the Resources]; (4) Methods towards Introduction AND Reduction [Trimming; Introducing voids; Closed World concept in ASIT; Use of the waste; Turning harm into benefit; Using trends of evolution]. HTML page and PDF file (264 KB) .

Forum: Conference Report (17): "Personal Report of TRIZCON2007: The 9th Annual Conference of the Altshuller Institute for TRIZ Studies (Held at Louisville, KY, USA, on Apr. 23 - 25, 2007)" (Jul. 3, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Jun. 28, 2007
[App. 70 participants,  22 papers published in the Proceedings.  Reviewed all the actually-presented papers from my personal point of view and reported in English (summary alone in Japanese).  A Keynote Lecture was given by Alla Nesterenko (Russia) on her experiences of teaching school children (K-12) on the basis of TRIZ; during TRIZCON2007 Education Workshop was held in order to make a proposal for a similar education project in USA.  For further development of TRIZ methodologies, two papers presented by Hyman Duan at al. (China) and by Sergey Malkin (USA) are remarkable in their trials of developing new easy-to-learn TRIZ software tools.  We had two excellent case study papers in technologies: Gunter Ladewige et al. (Canada) developed, with the guidance of TRIZ principles, a novel wirebonding technology, 'Microbonds', where wires insulated with 1 micron-thick coating can be bonded densely and flexibly; the new technology is expected to have super effects (i.e. a lot of chain effects) in the microchip industries.  Tzu-Chang Chen (Taiwan) reported a powerful way of evaluating patent portfolios with ordinary IP methods plus TRIZ.  It is a pity that contributions from US industries and US academia in research are decreasing for these several year in TRIZCON even though contributions from Asian countries are increasing. ]  

  TRIZ Case Study Paper: "TRIZ Predicts Major Shift in Information Technology"   (Jul. 3, 2007)

Filip Verhaeghe (Self-Star Corporation, Belgium), Presented at ETRIA World Conference 'TRIZ Future 2006' Held at Kortrijk, Belgium, on Oct. 9-11, 2006.
Japanese translation by Jiu Ishino (Osaka Gakuin Univ.) and Toru Nakagawa (OGU), Jun. 22, 2007
[In using IT, we currently buy hardwares, buy software, and run our own IT centers ('On Premise' IT); in future suppliers will operate the IT centers to run software on the servers while business users use them through browsers by sending their data to the centers ('On Demand' IT).  Google for searching is the example of On Demand IT.  The Author finds that many TRIZ Principles and Trends of Evolution support this shift, thus possibly turning into a major shift in IT. -- This is a valuable paper for viewing IT with TRIZ and for obtaining guiding principles in IT from TRIZ. We have translated this paper into Japanese and posted here both in Japanese and in English .]

Keynote Lecture: "A Simple Theory Underlying Structured Problem-Solving Methodologies －ASIT, TRIZ, USIT (and others)"  (Jun. 24, 2007)

Ed Sickafus (Ntelleck, USA), Keynote Lecture presented at The Second TRIZ Symposium in Japan, on Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, 2006, at Pana-Hills Osaka, Suita City, Osaka, Japan; Japanese translation of the paper by Keishi Kawamo (retired: Shibaura Institute of Technology) and Toru Nakagawa (OGU), Jun. 17, 2007.
[We have re-realized the importance of this paper.  Thus, besides the Japanese translation of the presentation slides posted earlier, we have translated the paper into Japanese and post it here, together with the original English texts. English page ; Japanese translation in HTML and in PDF . ]

  Series: Course Materials Illustrated (14): "Hierarchical TRIZ Algorithms" ('Detailed' parts) "L. Table of Knobs" (Jun 24, 2007)

Larry Ball (Honeywell, USA), Posted in TRIZ Journal since May, 2005; Translated into Japanese by Toshio Takahara and Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Jun. 9, 2007.
[14th posting of the intensive Course Material on a simplified form of TRIZ.  'Knobs' mean the attributes and properties.  The Author lists up a variety of attributes and illustrates how to turn the Knobs to the extremes for revealing contradictions and new insights. ]

  Introduction Series of TRIZ (18): "Basic Concepts in TRIZ (4) Ideality and How to Improve It" (Part 18 of "TRIZ: Creative Problem Solving Methodology for Innovation") (Jun. 24, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "InterLab" (Optronics Ltd.), Jun. 2007, pp. 31-34, (published on May. 15, 2007)
[Introduction to TRIZ, Part 18 of a long-run series.  Basic concepts of TRIZ are explained one by one.  (1) Concept of Ideality in TRIZ [Necessity of thinking about Ideality; Definition of Ideality in Classical TRIZ; Understanding of Ideality in recent TRIZ literatures; Ideal Final Result (IFR)]; (2) Improving the Ideality and the S-Curve [S-Curve of Evolution; Invention & business focus along the S-curves]; (3) Making images of Ideality [Importance of making an image of Ideality; Making an image of Ideal results; Ideal solution by Itself in TRIZ; Self-X patents].  HTML page and PDF file (300 KB) .

  TRIZ Case Study Paper: "Using TRIZ to Develop New Corrosion Protection Concepts in Shipbuilding -- A Case Study"   (May 23, 2007)

Jan R. Weitzenbock and Stefan Marion (Det Norske Veritas,Norway), Presented at ETRIA World Conference 'TRIZ Future 2006' Held at Kortrijk, Belgium, on Oct. 9-11, 2006.
Japanese translation by Youichi Hasegawa (Fuji Film, Co.) and Toru Nakagawa (OGU), May 22, 2007
This paper has applied TRIZ to the old and important problem of protecting ship surfaces from corrosion.  Their approach follows Darrell Mann's textbook HOSI.  On the basis of Probe lm Definition, Function-Attribute Analysis, and IFR, they have generated solution concepts by use of Effects and Trends of Evolution databases and built up the road maps.  This is a sound and well-described case study from which we can learn much.   Nakagawa's introduction is taken from his 'Personal Report of ETRIA TFC 2006'.  The original English version is posted in PDF .  The Japanese version is posted both in HTML and in PDF .  ]

  Series: Course Materials Illustrated (13): "Hierarchical TRIZ Algorithms" ('Detailed' parts) "I. Solving the Contradictions" (Latter Half) (May 23, 2007)

Larry Ball (Honeywell, USA), Posted in TRIZ Journal since May, 2005; Translated into Japanese by Toshio Takahara and Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), May 19, 2007.
[13th posting of the intensive Course Material on a simplified form of TRIZ.  This posting is the latter half of Ball's Contradiction Table, where he extends the Separation Principles in several aspects, e.g. separation by scale, by direction, by perspective, by Field properties, and between substance and Field.  These principles are well demonstrated with illustrations. ]

  TRIZ Education Paper: "Classes of 'Creative Problem-Solving Thinking -- Experiences at Osaka Gakuin University--" (May 6, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin University), Presented at TRIZCON2007: The 9th Annual Conference of Altshuller Institute for TRIZ Studies, held at Louisville, Kentucky, USA, on Apr. 23-25, 2007.
[A full report of experiences of teaching Creative Problem Solving Thinking.  Lecture Class for the 2nd year students, Seminar Class for the 3rd year, and Thesis Class for the 4th year students.  Contents of the classes and some results produced by students are described.  Paper in HTML, in PDF and slides in PDF.  The paper in a wider scope was posted in Japanese beforehand.]

  Series: Course Materials Illustrated (12): "Hierarchical TRIZ Algorithms" ('Detailed' parts) "I. Solving the Contradictions"(May 6, 2007)

Larry Ball (Honeywell, USA), Posted in TRIZ Journal since May, 2005; Translated into Japanese by Toshio Takahara and Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), May 5, 2007.
[12th posting of the intensive Course Material on a simplified form of TRIZ.  The 'Detailed' parts are posted step by step.  Combining the descriptions of conventional Technical and Physical Contradictions, the Author advises to define the (complete) Contradictions and to solve them systematically along a flowchart named 'Contradiction Table'.  The logic expressed in the Contradiction Table is clear and well demonstrated with Inventive Principles and many illustrated cases.  This is the highlight of the whole course.]

  Introduction Series of TRIZ (17): "Basic Concepts in TRIZ (3) 'Fields': A Concept Which Contains Any Form of Force, Interaction, Field, and Energy." (Part 17 of "TRIZ: Creative Problem Solving Methodology for Innovation") (May 6, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "InterLab" (Optronics Ltd.), May 2007, pp. 37-40, (published on Apr. 15, 2007)
[Introduction to TRIZ, Part 17 of a long-run series.  Basic concepts of TRIZ are explained one by one.  (1) The concept of 'Fields' in TRIZ [Concept of Fields in Physics; The term of 'Fields' in TRIZ; Variety of 'Fields' in TRIZ; Concept of Levels of Fields in TRIZ], (2) Effective Use of TRIZ 'Fields' Concepts, (3) Substance-Field Model in TRIZ [Altshuller's Su-Field Model; Interpretation in Terms of Function; Aims of Building Su-Field Models; Concept of Function in TRIZ].  HTML page and PDF file (307 KB) .

  Volunteers Wanted: " 'To Do List for TRIZ' Page Is Updated"   (May 6, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (OGU), Apr. 3, 2007
[For making this Web site more useful for many readers, volunteers are wanted.  Updating the pages of TRIZ references and links is necessary.  A number of excellent papers reported/published abroad are wanted to be translated into Japanese.]

  TRIZ Forum: "Start of the 'USIT/TRIZ Study Group' in MPUF"   (Apr. 5, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (OGU), Apr. 3, 2007
[MPUF (i.e., Microsoft Project Users Forum) is a network-based organization of voluntary members for the purpose of studying and penetrating various techniques relevant to project management.  The study group mentioned above is going to be started in MPUF among other 17 existing study groups.  Any person may join MPUF and its Study Group by registration, free of charge.  On the request by the MPUF office, Nakagawa and Yuji Mihara have become the founding secretaries of the study group.  The Aims of the Study Group and its explanation are posted. This Study Group in MPUF is independent from those of Japan TRIZ CB and from TRIZ Home Page in Japan.]

  TRIZ Case Study Paper: "TRIZ Application in Device & Manufacturing Electrostatic Discharge Control"   (Apr. 5, 2007)

Teong-San Yeoh (Intel Technologies Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia), Presented at TRIZCON2006: The 8th Annual Conference of Altshuller Institute for TRIZ Studies, on Apr. 30 - May 2, 2006, at Milwaukee, USA.
Japanese translation by Katsusuke Ichikawa (Shin-Dengen Indus tires, Ltd.) and Toru Nakagawa (OGU), Apr. 2, 2007
[Due to getting smaller and smaller, semiconductor devices face with the increasing risk of being damaged by Electrostatic discharge (ESD).  ESD control need to be installed in the devices themselves and also in the manufacturing and handling processes.  The present paper reviews the existing techniques of both the device ESD control and the manufacturing ESD control with the eyes of TRIZ, and explains them in terms of TRIZ 40 Inventive Principles.  The paper is a nice case study to understand a specific field of (empirical) technology on the basis of TRIZ.  This approach seems to be effectively applicable to various fields, e.g., engineering, agriculture, health care, software development, business and management, etc.  Nakagawa's introduction is taken from his 'Personal Report of TRIZCON2006'.  The Japanese version is posted both in HTML and in PDF .  The original English version is posted in PDF ]

  Introduction Series of TRIZ (16): "Basic Concepts in TRIZ (2) 'System': A system of Problems and the Concept of Technical Systems" (Part 16 of "TRIZ: Creative Problem Solving Methodology for Innovation") (Apr. 5, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "InterLab" (Optronics Ltd.), Apr. 2007, pp. 31-34, (published on Mar. 15, 2007)
[Introduction to TRIZ, Part 16 of a long-run series.  Basic concepts of TRIZ are explained one by one.  (1) The word of 'System' ['System' in dictionaries; Properties of a 'System'], (2) Understanding a problem as a system of problems, (3) Concept of 'Technical Systems' [Hierarchical nature of systems; Selecting relevant components of a system; Laws of Completeness of Technical Systems; Evolution from tools to autonomous machines; Understanding minimal problems; Auxiliary laws related to the completeness of technical systems; 9-Windows method (System Operator)].  HTML page  and PDF file (269 KB).]

  Case Study: Problem Solving with VE: "Development of a Movable Office of Ticket Vending Machines for the Construction Works of Remodeling JR Osaka Station"   (Apr. 5, 2007)

Kouji Katayama (Western Japan Railroad), Presented at The 38th Kansai Value Engineering Conference, Held by Japan Value Engineering Society, on Feb. 16, 2007, at Osaka International Communication Center, Tennoji-ku, Osaka. 
[For the construction works for remodeling JR Osaka Station, an office of ticket vending machines was found necessary to move and reinstall several times.  Conventional way of moving the office takes 40 days with temporary enclosures at the new or old location, causing much inconvenience with narrowed pathways.  The author developed a method of moving it just one overnight and performed it successfully.  The keypoint in the problem solving method in this report seems to be the processes of clarifying the problem in a hierarchical scheme, converting the expressions of problems into those of tasks/targets, and then generating a hierarchical system of target solutions.  This is one of VE methods, the author says, but it should certainly be useful in problem solving with TRIZ/USIT.  An excellent case study!  The paper is posted in PDF .]

  Series: Course Materials Illustrated (11): "Hierarchical TRIZ Algorithms" ('Detailed' parts) "F. What is the Main Problem?",  "G. What Causes the Problem?", and "H. Turn Object Knobs to Fix the Problem" (Apr. 5, 2007)

Larry Ball (Honeywell, USA), Posted in TRIZ Journal since May, 2005; Translated into Japanese by Toshio Takahara and Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Feb. 27, 2007.
[11th posting of the intensive Course Material on a simplified form of TRIZ.  The 'Detailed' parts are posted step by step.  The Author, Larry Ball, is going to give a Keynote Lecture at the coming Third TRIZ Symposium in Japan to be held on Aug. 30 - Sept. 1, 2007.]

  TRIZ Forum: "Introduction to the Update of "TRIZ Home Page for Students by Students" "(Mar. 19, 2007)

Updating by Tomoyuki Ito, Masashi Niitsu, Masatoshi Nishioka, Arata Fujita, and Shingo Yokota (Students of Osaka Gakuin University, Faculty of Informatics), on Mar. 19, 2007.
Introduction by Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Mar. 19, 2007.
[The 5 students of Nakagawa's Seminar Class who are just graduating the university have posted their thesis works briefly in their Students' HP.  They have applied TRIZ/USIT to various everyday-life problems. A trial was made to systematize the methods of preventing from tangling of cables/cords. On the topics of 'How to use the mobile phone in a train without causing trouble to the people around' and 'How to prevent from unauthorized persons entering the auto-locking door of an apartment building', we have tried to apply TRIZ/USIT to the fields not only technical but also human- and society-related issues. Introduction by Nakagawa , and Students' Home Page .]

  Introduction Series of TRIZ (15): "Basic Concepts in TRIZ (1) Essence of TRIZ in 50 Words" (Part 15 of "TRIZ: Creative Problem Solving Methodology for Innovation") (Mar. 1, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "InterLab" (Optronics Ltd.), Mar. 2007, pp. 45-48, (published on Feb. 15, 2007)
[Introduction to TRIZ, Part 15 of a long-run series.  Essence of basic concepts (or philosophy) of TRIZ is expressed in 50 words in English (T. Nakagawa, 2001).  (1) Essence of TRIZ in 50 Words [How this essence was obtained; Essence of TRIZ expressed in 50 words], (2) Recognition by TRIZ [Essence of TRIZ is a recognition of technology; Recognition that technical systems evolve; Evolution towards the increase in Ideality; Overcoming of a contradiction is a step in the evolution; Minimal introduction of resources], (3) Creative thinking methods for problem solving [TRIZ provides thinking methods for solving problems creatively; Dialectic thinking; Understanding the problem as a system; Making an image of ideal solution first; Thinking method to solve contradictions].  HTML page  and PDF file (262 KB).]

  Series: Course Materials Illustrated (10): "Hierarchical TRIZ Algorithms" ('Detailed' parts) "K. Appendix: Idealizing Functions"(Mar. 1 , 2007)

Larry Ball (Honeywell, USA), Posted in TRIZ Journal since May, 2005; Translated into Japanese by Toshio Takahara and Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Feb. 15, 2007.
[10th posting of the intensive Course Material on a simplified form of TRIZ.  The 'Detailed' parts are posted step by step.  Section K, though set as an appendix, is to be referred or used several times in the Sections B through E.  It actually covers the Inventive Standards of TRIZ.  In addition to its Part 1 posted two weeks ago, its Parts 2 and.3 are posted, which describe idealizing the harmful functions and detection/measurement functions.]

  Lecture Studies: "Keypoints in Creative Problem Solving with TRIZ"   (Mar. 1, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin University), Presented at the Second Seminar for Celebrating the Publication of "7 Tools for Innovation" by "Nikkei Monozukuri (Manufacturing)" Journal with the theme of "Keypoints of QFD, TRIZ, and Taguchi Method", on Dec. 16, 2006, at Tokyo Conference Center-Shinagawa.
[In the issues from April 2004 through July 2006 of the monthly journal "NIkkei Monozukuri", lectures of 7 tools for innovation were published in series with the title of 'Aha! of the method'.  These lectures have been published in a book recently.  The Seminar for celebrating the publication attracted more than 200 people.  Such a history and references are briefly summarized and linked in my Editor's Note.  In my lecture, 5 keypoints for understanding and using TRIZ are explained.  Lecture slides are posted in PDF .]

  TRIZ Symposium slides: "Introducing USIT in Matsushita Electric Works"   (Mar. 1, 2007)

Kouji Tsuji and Jiro Hashizume (Matsushita Electric Works), Presented at The Second TRIZ Symposium in JapanHeld by the Collaborative Board of TRIZ Promoters and Users in Japan, on Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, 2006, at Pana-Hills Osaka, Suita, Osaka. 
[After holding in-house 2-day USIT training seminars conducted by Toru Nakagawa three times, the two authors have been conducting 2-day USIT workshops in their company.  The paper reported the results of 14 such workshops performed on the projects in the fields of mechanical (6 cases), electrical and IT (5 cases), and chemical and biological (3 cases).  In each workshop, five-or-so engineers were guided along the USIT procedure by the authors and generated 27 ideas in average during the 2-day group practice.  92 % of the participants of the workshops evaluated the USIT method worthy of recommending to other engineers.  Thus the authors have established a good scheme of actual practice of applying/penetrating USIT.  Nakagawa's introduction written in the Personal Report of TRIZ Symposium in Japan, 2006 is translated into Japanese, and the presentation slides   are posted in PDF.]

  Series: Course Materials Illustrated (9): "Hierarchical TRIZ Algorithms" ('Detailed' parts) "E. Simplify the System (IFR)", "K. Appendix: Idealizing Functions. Part 1. Rules for Transforming Useful Functions to the IFR"(Feb. 15, 2007)

Larry Ball (Honeywell, USA), Posted in TRIZ Journal since May, 2005; Translated into Japanese by Toshio Takahara and Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Feb. 15, 2007.
[9th posting of the intensive Course Material on a simplified form of TRIZ.  The 'Detailed' parts are posted step by step.  Up to Section E, we have clarified the main function of the problem system, identified the physical phenomenon and the (product) object, and then tried to idealize the function of the system.  Section K, though set as an appendix, needs to be referred or used several times in the Sections B through E.  It actually covers the Inventive Standards of TRIZ.  The Part 1 describes the rules for idealizing the useful functions.  The Parts 2 and.3 for idealizing the harmful functions and detection/measurement functions will be posted next time.]

  Introduction Series of TRIZ (14): "How to Introduce, Apply, and Promote TRIZ/USIT (1) Keys for Managers" (Part 14 of "TRIZ: Creative Problem Solving Methodology for Innovation") (Feb. 15, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "InterLab" (Optronics Ltd.), Feb. 2007, pp. 47-50, (published on Jan. 15, 2007)
[Introduction to TRIZ, Part 14 of a long-run series.  For the managers, the keys to introduce, apply, and promote TRIZ/USIT in industries are explained.  (1) The current turning-point situations of TRIZ penetration, (2) For what should we use TRIZ? [For what should we use TRIZ?; Problems where we do not use TRIZ; Application fields of TRIZ/USIT], (3) Cases having proved the benefits of TRIZ usage [Cases showing business benefits; A case study having proved that TRIZ has really improved the creativity of engineers], (4) How to introduce TRIZ/USIT [Practical ways of introducing TRIZ in industries; The moments of breaking through the barriers of RIZ introduction/penetration; Roles of top-down promotion; Key points for breaking through].  HTML page  and PDF file (331 KB).]

  Series: Course Materials Illustrated (8): "Hierarchical TRIZ Algorithms" ('Detailed' parts) "B. Clarify the System Functions", "C. Identify the Physical Phenomena", "D. Identify the System Objects" (Jan. 22, 2007)

Larry Ball (Honeywell, USA), Posted in TRIZ Journal since May, 2005; Translated into Japanese by Toshio Takahara and Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Jan. 22, 2007.
[8th posting of the intensive Course Material on a simplified form of TRIZ.  The 'Detailed' parts of three chapters, B (6 pages), C (3 pages), and D (3 pages), are posted in Japanese translation in PDF.]

  Education Case Studies: "Experiences of Teaching How to Think for Creative Problem Solving"   (Jan. 11, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin University), Nov. 27, 2006; to be published in the "Bulletin in Humanities and Science" of Osaka Gakuin University (Issue of Mar. 2007)
[This report describes most of my education activities in Faculty of Informatics, Osaka Gakuin Univ., especially in the area related to creativity education.  I am trying to teach the students to obtain the ways of creative thinking and problem solving of various problems ranging from everyday-life to technologies.  Trainings are also made for students to express their thoughts, to write reports, and to give presentations.  They include the following classes: (a) 1st year Seminar Class for expressing, writing, and presentation trainings and for teaching how to write an official report or paper; (b) 3rd (or 4th) year specialty classes in information science, especially on free-theme programming in Numerical Computation Course and on group practices of free-theme software planning & designing in Software Engineering Course; (c) 2nd year latter-semester lecture class on the Methodologies of Creative Problem Solving, where TRIZ and USIT are introduced fully; (d) 3rd year Seminar Class for mostly group practices and 4th year Thesis Course both on the themes of 'How to Think Creatively in Problem Solving'.  The contents and ways of teaching in these classes are described together with brief introductions to the case studies performed by the students.  Posted in HTML and in PDF (391KB).]

  Series: Course Materials Illustrated (7): "Hierarchical TRIZ Algorithms" ('Detailed' part) "A. Discovery of Market" (Jan. 7, 2007)

Larry Ball (Honeywell, USA), Posted in TRIZ Journal since May, 2005; Translated into Japanese by Toshio Takahara and Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Jan. 5, 2007.
[7th posting of the intensive Course Material on a simplified form of TRIZ.  After 4 months of interval, we start posting this excellent Course Material by Larry Ball in its 'Detailed' parts.  Note that each Chapter has the Introduction, 'Simplified' part, and 'Detailed' part; the 'Detailed' part describes the chapter in its full extent by using a large number of illustrations and brief examples. Posted in the PDF file (316 KB).]

  Introduction Series of TRIZ (13): "Everyday-life Case Studies of TRIZ/USIT (3) How to Prevent the Staples from Being Crashed" (Part 13 of "TRIZ: Creative Problem Solving Methodology for Innovation") (Jan. 7, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "InterLab" (Optronics Ltd.), Jan. 2007, pp. 31-34, (published on Dec. 15, 2006)
[Introduction to TRIZ, Part 13 of a long-run series.  Using a simple everyday-life problem, the whole procedure of problem solving with TRIZ/USIT is demonstrated.  (1) Difficulty of binding over 30 sheets of papers with a stapler [Initial setting of the problem; Observing and speculating root causes; Analyzing the lateral play of the stapler arm], (2) Discovery of an unexpected root cause [Observing an unexpected fact; Examining the mechanism to find the root cause; A desirable solution blocked by a contradiction], (3) Solution ideas generated with TRIZ/USIT [Altshuller's Smart Little People (SLP) Modeling; Smart Little People supporting the staple from the inner sides; Interpreting the SLP's ideas in terms of technology], (4) Constructing the solution concepts [Construct the basic mechanism; Design new systems with proactive use of the new idea].  HTML page  and PDF file (311 KB).]

Forum: Conference Report (16): "Personal Report of ETRIA 'TRIZ Future 2006' Conference (Held by European TRIZ Association (ETRIA) on Oct. 9 - 11, 2006, at Kortrijk, Belgium)" (Jan. 7, 2007)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Dec. 31, 2006
[App. 120 participants (and other 80 at the joint Quality Conference of Flemish Quality Management Center),  50 papers published in the Proceedings.  Having reviewed all the actually-presented papers from my personal point of view and reported in English (summary alone in Japanese).  Organizers (or ETRIA leaders) tried to give/find bases of TRIZ on the scientific disciplines in the West, e.g. design engineering, Axiomatic Design, etc.  See the Keynote Lecture by Professor Stephen C-Y. Lu (USC, USA).  On further extension of the TRIZ methodology, Keynote by Aleksey Pinyayev (P&G, USA) and a contributed paper by Simon Dewulf (CREAX, Belgium) are interesting to me. As a case study report, the invention of "A New Motor" by Vratislav Perna (Czech) and its evaluation by TRIZ experts, Bohuslav Busov (Brno Univ. of Tech., Czech) and Pavel Jirman (Tech. Univ. of Liberec, Czech), are tremendous. The new motor is composed of a pair of 'nonlinear screws' and can be, in future, a disruptive technology against normal combustion engines, rotary engines, and jet turbines! They made a marine propeller with the new concept and demonstrated its superb characteristics in their video presentation.  -- Anyway, by reviewing the Conference papers we can learn the current state-of-the-art and future directions of the TRIZ methodology and its applications. ]

  TRIZ Forum: Conference Report: "A Note on The 2nd TRIZ Symposium in Japan, 2006"   (Jan. 7, 2007)

Ed Sickafus (Ntelleck LLC., USA), U-SIT and Think News Letter - 68, Dec. 24, 2006.  
[Ed Sickafus, the original developer of USIT, was invited to give a Keynote Lecture at the 2nd Japan TRIZ Symposium.  He wrote in his mail magazine, his impressions about the TRIZ/USIT activities in Japan and the Symposium.  Posted here under the permission by the author.]

  TRIZ Symposium slides: " "TRIZ Home Page for Students by Students": Understanding TRIZ/USIT by Solving Everyday-Life Problems "   (Jan. 7, 2007)

Masayuki Hida, Tsubasa Shimoda, Naoya Hayashi, Mizuo Omori, and Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin University), Presented at The Second TRIZ Symposium in JapanHeld by the Collaborative Board of TRIZ Promoters and Users in Japan, on Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, 2006, at Pana-Hills Osaka, Suita, Osaka. 
[The four students of Nakagawa's Seminar Class who graduated last March gave this presentation with the assistance by myself as a coauthor. In their thesis work they have individually solved everyday-life problems by using TRIZ/USIT and also jointly built a Web site on TRIZ for students and beginners.  The record of students' discussion, just before their graduation, on "What have we learned through TRIZ/USIT ?" is interesting. Nakagawa's introduction and the presentation slides   are posted.]

  TRIZ Symposium paper and slides: "Technology Forecast by the 9-Window Method and the FDMS Cycle"   (Jan. 7, 2007)

Kunio Fukatsu （TOSHIBA Social Automation Systems), Presented at The Second TRIZ Symposium in JapanHeld by the Collaborative Board of TRIZ Promoters and Users in Japan, on Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, 2006, at Pana-Hills Osaka, Suita, Osaka. 
[The Author has been working for developing social automation systems especially with paper and card handling functions.  In the present study, he characterizes the 4 stages of the S-curve evolution as the 'FDMS Cycle' composed of Function realization, Discrimination, Multifunction, and Standardization stages. Then he demonstrated the FDMS Cycles of the banks' ATM system in relation with those of its subsystems, i.e. passbook printer and page turning element, and concluded that the Function realization of a subsystem urges the system to proceed a step further in the FDMS Cycle.  Nakagawa's introduction , the presentation slides  , and the paper in Japanese are posted.]

Posted in 2006

  TRIZ Symposium slides: "'Phenomena-Attributes Analysis (PAA)' in USIT Demonstrated for the 'Picture Hanging Kit Problem'"   (Dec. 23, 2006)

Hideaki Kosha (Fuji Photo Film Co.), Presented at The Second TRIZ Symposium in Japan Held by the Collaborative Board of TRIZ Promoters and Users in Japan, on Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, 2006, at Pana-Hills Osaka, Suita, Osaka.
[The Author has been applying and promoting USIT in his company for these 6 years.  In this Poster presentation, he proposes a method for analyzing the mechanism of a phenomenon by considering its sub-processes in detail.  This helps us reveal the plausible root causes and hence obtain solutions effectively.  Nakagawa's introduction taken from his 'Personal Report' , the poster slides in Japanese , and 2 slides of them in English are posted.]

  TRIZ Symposium slides: "Changing the Paradigm in Business English Learning Using TRIZ"   (Dec. 23, 2006)

Padma Rajeswari Tata and Manoj Kumar Jaiswal (Infosys Technologies Limited, India), Presented at The Second TRIZ Symposium in Japan Held by the Collaborative Board of TRIZ Promoters and Users in Japan, on Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, 2006, at Pana-Hills Osaka, Suita, Osaka.
[This is the only-one (in the Symposium) and a very nice presentation of applying TRIZ to non-technical area. Applying Darrell Mann's method, the Authors solved their own problem very smoothly.  They collected the answers to the inquiry 'The Business English learning is not effective because ...', represented them in Perception Mapping, found the contradictions, and solved them with Matrix 2003 for Business & Management.  They have set certification tests pre and post the learning and established a flexible course with the combination of classes, self-learning, language labs, etc.  This presentation is nice, simple, and easy to reproduce. Nakagawa's introduction (an excerpt of his 'Personal Report of Second TRIZ Symposium) , full paper in English  , the presentation slides , and the slides translated into Japanese by Toshiba Masaki are posted.]

  Introduction Series of TRIZ (12): "TRIZ Utilizes Knowledge Bases (6) 'Contradiction Matrix' for Obtaining Recommendations of Inventive Principle" (Part 12 of "TRIZ: Creative Problem Solving Methodology for Innovation") (Nov. 29, 2006)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "InterLab" (Optronics Ltd.), Dec. 2006, pp. 35-38, (published on Nov. 15, 2006)
[Introduction to TRIZ, Part 12 of a long-run series.  Altshuller's Contradiction Matrix and its modernized version by Darrell Mann et al. are introduced.  (1) Introduction: 'Types of Problems' [Different concepts of 'Types of Problems', Altshuller's concept of 'Types of Problems'], (2) Altshuller's Contradiction Matrix: Its construction and usage [Construction of the Matrix by Altshuller, How to use the Contradiction Matrix, Practical remarks for usage, Historical change in the evaluation of the Matrix], (3) Updated version Matrix 2003 [Construction of Matrix 2003, Parameters in Matrix 2003, Easier ways from problems to Inventive Principles, Verification of the effectiveness of Matrix 2003, Matrices for software development and non-technology fields].  HTML page  and PDF file (277KB).]

  TRIZ Symposium slides: "Using TRIZ in Project-Based-Learning Assisted by CAE and Manufacturing Experiences"   (Nov. 29, 2006)

Masao Ishihama (Kanagawa Institute of Technology, Japan), Presented at The Second TRIZ Symposium in JapanHeld by the Collaborative Board of TRIZ Promoters and Users in Japan, on Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, 2006, at Pana-Hills Osaka, Suita, Osaka.
[Project-Based Learning is pro-actively pursuit in Kanagawa Inst. Tech.  Two case studies are reported here in detail taken from the special PBL course carried out in the Department of Automobile System Development Engineering.  One of them is related to the development of a racing car for the 'Formula SAE' World Competition held every year in Michigan State.  Improvement of performance of the Air Intake Part of the combustion engine was the task solved with TRIZ by using Contradiction Matrix and Inventive Principles.  The student who obtained the inventive idea could also recognized its feasibility on the basis of his 3D CAD and machining capabilities learned in the class.  This is a wonderful case showing that TRIZ has been used in real problem by university students.  Nakagawa's introduction (an excerpt of his 'Personal Report of Second TRIZ Symposium) , full paper in English  and the presentation slides   are posted.]

  TRIZ Symposium slides: "A Novel Joint Structure To Realize Welderingless Pipe Structures"   (Nov. 29, 2006)

Minoru Yokouchi (Takano Co., Ltd., Japan), Presented at The Second TRIZ Symposium in JapanHeld by the Collaborative Board of TRIZ Promoters and Users in Japan, on Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, 2006, at Pana-Hills Osaka, Suita, Osaka.  [English translation of slides by Toru Nakagawa (OGU).]
[A manufacturer with 65 employees in Nagano Prefecture started to develop a new product of their original ideas.  Beginning with idea generation of what to make, they made progress step by step to solve difficulties in developing a new product of pipe-frame structures without weldering.  Their whole process of development including effective use of TRIZ has been presented in detail.  It is an excellent report of case study received very high appreciation at the Symposium.  Nakagawa's introduction (an excerpt of his 'Personal Report of Second TRIZ Symposium)  and the presentation slides   are posted.]

Forum: Conference Report: "Personal Report of the Second TRIZ Symposium in Japan (Held by Japan TRIZ CB, on Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, 2006, at Pana-Hills Osaka, Suita)" (Nov. 8, 2006)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Nov. 4, 2006
[The goals and outcomes of our Second TRIZ Symposium in Japan are reported here in English from Nakagawa's personal views.  All the Keynotes, Oral, and Poster presentations are reviewed and introduced to you, in the categories of Keynotes, Industrial case studies, Promotion in industries, Usage in academia, Methodologies, Patent studies, and Software and non-technical applications.  Many presentations by Japanese authors are introduced here with their original slides.]

 

  Introduction Series of TRIZ (11): "TRIZ Utilizes Knowledge Bases (5) '40 Inventive Principles': How to Learn and How to Use Them" (Part 11 of "TRIZ: Creative Problem Solving Methodology for Innovation") (Nov. 1, 2006)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "InterLab" (Optronics Ltd.), Nov. 2006, pp. 48-51, (published on Oct. 15, 2006)
[Introduction to TRIZ, Part 11 of a long-run series.  Altshuller extracted the essence of inventions from a huge number of patents and constructed them into the '40 Inventive Principles', which are most popular among many TRIZ tools.   (1) How to learn Inventive Principles [References to Inventive Principles, Table of the 40 Inventive Principles, Description of the Principles: Sub-principles, Narrower and wider understanding of the Principles]; (2) Understanding the essences of existing patents by use of Inventive Principles [Understanding the essence of an invention, Understanding the guiding principles of a field of subject, Understanding the direction of evolution of a technical system]; (3) Using Inventive Principles as the hints for solutions [Studying application examples of Invention Principles, Applying the essence appropriately]; (4) Extension of application areas of Inventive Principles [Collection of application cases in different areas, Interpretation of Inventive Principles in new areas, Should we add more Principles?].  HTML page  and PDF file (283KB).]

  ETRIA TFC2006 paper and slides: "A New Paradigm of Creative Problem Solving (3) Six-Box Scheme in USIT"    (Nov. 1, 2006) (Slides in Japanese: Nov. 29, 2006)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ., Japan), Presented at ETRIA "TRIZ Future 2006" Conferenceat Kortrijk, Belgium, on October 6 - 8, 2006
[The 'Six-Box Scheme' which I had been advocating as a new paradigm of creative problem solving was illustrated.  The first half of the presentation explains the concept of the Six-Box Scheme, while the latter half describes the comparison of 'the Four-Box Scheme paradigm with traditional TRIZ' and 'the new Six-Box scheme with USIT' from 6 viewpoints.  Full paper in English and slides in English are posted in this site. The paper presented at Japan TRIZ Symposium forms a complementary pair with this paper.] [Slides in Japanese translation are posted in HTML and in PDF (Nov. 29, 2006)]

  TRIZ Symposium slides: "A New Paradigm of Creative Problem Solving (3) Usage and Significance of the Six-Box Scheme in USIT"    (Nov. 1, 2006) 

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ., Japan), Presented at The Second TRIZ Symposium in JapanHeld by the Collaborative Board of TRIZ Promoters and Users in Japan, on Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, 2006, at Pana-Hills Osaka, Suita, Osaka.
[The 'Six-Box Scheme' which I had been advocating since 2 years ago was presented with illustrations.  The first half of the presentation explains the concept of the Six-Box Scheme, while the latter half demonstrate two everyday-life case studies, i.e. 'How to fix a string shorter than the needle' and 'A system for preventing from our leaving things behind'.  Slides in English and slides in Japanese are posted in this site.  Also see the paper and slides which I presented at the ETRIA TFC 2006.]

Lecture slides: "Promotion and Application of TRIZ in High-Tech Companies: Lectures by a TRIZ Expert Who Guided Samsung Electronics, Korea"   (Nov. 1, 2006)

Valery Krasnoslobodtsev (TIC, USA), Presented at TRIZ Special Open Seminar Held by IDEA Co. on August 28, 2006 at World Trade Center, Tokyo.
[Lecture slides presented by Valery Kraev, who led the introduction of TRIZ into Samsung Electronics in Korea with a splendid success.  Part 1 "For Managers" is especially interesting.  The best key which removed the barriers against TRIZ penetration was the fact that they applied TRIZ to the real industrial problems, built solution prototypes in 3, 4 months, and demonstrated the results effectively.  The fact moved the top managements, engineers, and later Six-Sigma specialists.  Part 2 "For Engineers" describes the methodology base on ARIZ and demonstrates 3 case studies in Samsung. All the slides in English are posted here in the PDF format, while those in Japanese translation (translated by Nakagawa) are posted in the Web site of IDEA Co. and a brief introduction is given in the Japanese page of this site.

  On the Eighth Anniversary Day of  "TRIZ Home Page in Japan":  Toru Nakagawa (Nov. 1, 2006)

      This Web site "TRIZ Home Page in Japan" celebrates today its Eighth Anniversary together with readers in Japan and over the world.  This site is to promote the understanding and real usage of TRIZ by openly publishing information and communications related to TRIZ on not-for-profit basis.  Though I have been operating this site as a volunteer, this site is not a personal but a public forum to be composed of the contributions by readers, as you see already.  The Official Pages of the 'Collaborative Board of TRIZ Promoters and Users in Japan' have been posted in this site since last year, enhancing its public service. It is intended to publish most pages in Japanese and in English in parallel for the purpose of mutual understanding and collaboration between Japanese and overseas TRIZ learners/practitioners.  During last one year we had over 31600 visits to the top page in Japanese and over 5200 visits to that in English.  Readers' contributions either in English or in Japanese are heartily welcome. We wish that "TRIZ Home Page in Japan" continues to help readers understand and apply TRIZ better in their real problems.

  Introduction Series of TRIZ (10): "TRIZ Utilizes Knowledge Bases (4) Knowledge Base from Target Function to Solution Means" (Part 10 of "TRIZ: Creative Problem Solving Methodology for Innovation") (Oct. 4, 2006)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "InterLab" (Optronics Ltd.), Oct. 2006, pp. 35-38, (published on Sept. 15, 2006)
[Introduction to TRIZ, Part 10 of a long-run series.  In technical projects, we often have a target we want to achieve and then we have to look for some means to reach the goal.  In such a case we need to clarify the goal in terms (or languages) of functions, and then search a knowledge base (i.e., Functional Knowledge Base) with the clews of those terms for obtaining some hints of implementation means.  TRIZ has a rich collection of knowledge and software tools for this purpose.  (1) Hints from something having the same function; (2) Classification of functions and function DB's [Function as a target, Function classification and DB in IM's TechOptimizer, Function classification in Mann's textbook, CREAX' Function DB]; (3) Active use of Function Databases [Is the target function really clear?  Case studies with full use of Function DB's].  HTML page  and PDF file (313KB).]

Keynote Lecture: "Innovation of the Integrated Product and Process Development by WOIS -- Contradiction Oriented Innovation Strategy" (Oct. 2, 2006; Oct. 5, 2006)

Hans-Juergen Linde and Gunther Herr (WOIS Institute Coburg, Germany), Keynote Lecture presented at The Second TRIZ Symposium in Japan, Held by Japan TRIZ CB, on Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, 2006, at Pana-Hills Osaka, Suita City, Osaka, Japan.
[Professor Linde has been working to apply and extend TRIZ further in their own ways.  The principal aim of WOIS is to find strategic directions for the development of new products and processes by analyzing the evolution of the technical systems, and to make a breakthrough to the contradictions blocking such directions.  Thus they show how to make an Innovative Shortcut. Slides (Watch out!  Huge.  10.6 MB, PDF) , Paper (397 KB, PDF) , Slides in Japanese (translated by K. Nakahata and T. Hayashi) (Watch out!  Huge. 10.9 MB, PDF)   [PDF files remade: Oct. 5, 2006]

Keynote Lecture: "A Simple Theory Underlying Structured Problem-Solving Methodologies －ASIT, TRIZ, USIT (and others)" (Oct. 2, 2006)

Ed Sickafus (Ntelleck, USA, Originator of USIT), Keynote Lecture presented at The Second TRIZ Symposium in Japan, Held by Japan TRIZ CB, on Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, 2006, at Pana-Hills Osaka, Suita City, Osaka, Japan.
[Sickafus is the originator of USIT.  Any structured problem solving methodology, such as TRIZ, USIT, etc., teaches us to solve problems following clear structure.  However, Sickafus argues, the human brains work more freely, not only at the conscious level but also at the subconscious level.  Thus he advises us to utilize such a power of our brains.  While the conscious uses logic, the subconscious can be activated with metaphors, such as images and words.  Thus he advises us to solve problems without being constrained with the structured logic.  In Japanese traditional art students are trained to "Enter the Form first, and then get out of it". Slides (PDF, 344 KB) , Paper (PDF, 77 KB) , Slides in Japanese (translated by Yuji Mihara) (PDF, 515 KB)

Keynote Lecture: "Why Not Install 'Breakthrough Thinking' -- Get Rid of Copycats --" (Oct. 2, 2006)

Shozo Hibino (Chukyo University, Japan), Invited Lecture presented at The Second TRIZ Symposium in Japan, Held by Japan TRIZ CB, on Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, 2006, at Pana-Hills Osaka, Suita City, Osaka, Japan.
[Co-author with Professor G.Nadl er of a best-seller book "Breakthrough Thinking" (1990).  In the Breakthrough Thinking, the problem solver is advised to reconsider what he/she really wants to solve, what is the purpose, and what is the purpose of the purpose, etc.  By deepening and expanding the thought of purpose, much better solutions can be found, he emphasizes.  Paper in PDF (139 KB)

(slides)

Kazuya Yamaguchi (Panasonic Communications Co., Japan), Invited Lecture presented at The Second TRIZ Symposium in Japan, Held by Japan TRIZ CB, on Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, 2006, at Pana-Hills Osaka, Suita City, Osaka, Japan.
[Since 2001, the author has been leading a new division for introducing 'scientific methodologies' for the technology R&D into his whole company.  He first introduced the Taguchi Method, then TRIZ, and then QFD.  He has trained and establish several tens of members who work as in-house consultants for applying the methodologies to their real projects.  His current goal is to pursue Quality of Management by extending the use of these methodologies.  The author enthusiastically talks about these methodologies and his activities for promoting them in the Matsushita group companies.  Slides in PDF (1.3 MB) ,  Japanese slides in PDF (1.3 MB).

Introduction Series of TRIZ (9): "TRIZ Utilizes Knowledge Bases (3) Knowledge Base of Evolutionary Trends of Technical Systems" (Part 9 of "TRIZ: Creative Problem Solving Methodology for Innovation") (Sept. 6, 2006)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "InterLab" (Optronics Ltd.), Sept. 2006, pp. 47-50, (published on Aug. 15, 2006)
[Introduction to TRIZ, Part 9 of a long-run series.  A unique knowledge base in TRIZ is that of 'Trends of Evolution of Technical Systems', where the directions of evolutionary development in technical systems are extracted so as to be adaptable in the whole range of technologies. It gives us knowledge easy to learn and yet very powerful to use.  An example of Trends of Technical System Evolution; Basics of Trends of Technical System Evolution (Concepts and terminology of Trends of Evolution; Concepts of evolution in technical systems; Schemes of showing Trends of Technical System Evolution); Usage of Trends of Technical System Evolution (Studying Trends of Evolution; Thinking along Trends of Evolution; Activating the 'Potential of Evolution'; Problem solving with the use of Trends of Evolution). In HTML and in PDF (417 KB).]

Introduction Series of TRIZ (8): "TRIZ Utilizes Knowledge Bases (2) Database of Scientific and Technical Principles (Effects) and Their Usage" (Part 8 of "TRIZ: Creative Problem Solving Methodology for Innovation") (Sept. 6, 2006)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "InterLab" (Optronics Ltd.), Aug. 2006, pp. 48-51, (published on Jul. 15, 2006)
[Introduction to TRIZ, Part 8 of a long-run series.  As the most basic component of the TRIZ Knowledge Bases, the database of Scientific and Technical Principles and Phenomena (i.e. Effects, in TRIZ terms) is explained here first.  Methods of collecting information in science and technology (Accumulation of knowledge in individual disciplines; Collecting information by information retrieval; Exhaustive survey of patents by researchers; Automatic analysis of documents with Semantic Analysis Tools); Usage of Science and Technology Database (i.e. Effects DB) (Construction of Effects DB; Basics of using Effects DB; Using Effects DB on the basis of the "S-A-O Concept"; Searching for new knowledge by chaining and extending the "S-A-O"; Classification of knowledge by Functions; Classification of knowledge by Attributes (or Properties); When should we use the Effects DB?)  In HTML and in PDF (295 KB).]

Series: Course Materials Illustrated (6): "Hierarchical TRIZ Algorithms" . "J. Implement the Solution", "K. Appendix. Idealizing Functions; L. Appendix. Table of Knobs; M. Appendix. System Evolution; N. Appendix. Miscellaneous" (Sept. 6, 2006)

Larry Ball (Honeywell, USA), Posted in TRIZ Journal since May, 2005; Translated by Toshio Takahara and Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Jan. 5, 2006.
[6th posting of the intensive Course Material on a simplified form of TRIZ.
Section J. In order to realize the solution ideas, keep improvement of the ideas by drawing various designs in your diary, and make prototypes.  Combine solutions, and optimize the design by using, say, the Taguchi Method.  Then file a (provisional) patent, and try to license it by personally meeting appropriate people (or try to manufacture it for yourself). 
Section K describes the Ideal Final Results and Inventive Standards. Since these concepts are closely related with Section B through Section E, they are explained here separately. Section L shows a table of Knobs (i.e. attributes), and demonstrates how to generate solutions by fully utilizing such Knobs.  Section M shows the Trends of System Evolution.
With the postings so far, Introduction parts and Simplified versions of all the Sections of the present Course Materials have published here in the Japanese translation.  We are going to translate and post the Detailed versions of the Course Material from now on.]

Paper in Japanese translation: "How to Deal with Cost-Related Issues in TRIZ" (Jul 18, 2006)

Ellen Domb (PQR Group and the TRIZ Journal, USA), Presented at the ETRIA World Conference "TRIZ Future 2005" held at Graz, Austria on Nov. 16-18, 2005.  Japanese translation by Toru Nakagawa (OGU) on Jul. 12, 2006
[Paper presented last November, and has been waiting in the 'To Do List for TRIZ'.  Many of TRIZ beginners try to deal with cost-related issues, meet difficulties, and decide that TRIZ is of no use.  Since the cost problem covers a very wide range of issues, we need careful analyses, the author says.  Besides, we TRIZ experts should construct/re-arrange TRIZ methods in such a way that TRIZ beginners can tackle cost-related problems with TRIZ, the author says and actually suggests a version of such an approach.  Important paper for teaching/learning TRIZ.  Posted in HTML and in PDF (285 KB) .]

Paper in Japanese translation: "Success through Integration of TRIZ, DFSS, and Strategic Management" (Jul 18, 2006)

Johannes Pfister (Inter Quality Service AG, Germany), Presented at the ETRIA World Conference "TRIZ Future 2005" held at Graz, Austria on Nov. 16-18, 2005.  Japanese translation by Toru Nakagawa (OGU) on Jul. 10, 2006
[Paper presented last November, and has been waiting in the 'To Do List for TRIZ'.  On the basis of over 30 years of experiences as a consultant, the author has evaluated a large number of techniques/methodologies for developing products and services, and then has shown recommendable techniques and their relations in several intensive diagrams for major stages of development.  Important paper/document worthy of close examination.  Paper in Japanese in PDF (2021 KB) .]

Introduction Series of TRIZ (7): "TRIZ Utilizes Knowledge Bases (1) Overview of TRIZ Knowledge Bases and Software Tools" (Part 7 of "TRIZ: Creative Problem Solving Methodology for Innovation") (Jul. 4, 2006)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "InterLab" (Optronics Ltd.), Jul. 2006, pp. 37-40, (published on Jun. 15, 2006)
[Introduction to TRIZ, Part 7 of a long-run series.  Starting with the present part, I am going to introduce the TRIZ knowledge bases and software tools to the engineering people who are struggling in the frontiers of technologies.  The position of Knowledge Bases within TRIZ; Significance of TRIZ Knowledge Bases; Construction of TRIZ Knowledge Bases; Utilization of TRIZ Knowledge Bases (Publications and Web information; TRIZ software tools; e-Learning tools on TRIZ); When to use TRIZ Knowledge Bases in the problem solving process.  In HTML and in PDF (311 KB).]

Series: Course Materials Illustrated (5): "Hierarchical TRIZ Algorithms" . "I. Resolve Resulting Contradictions "(Jul. 4 , 2006)

Larry Ball (Honeywell, USA), Posted in TRIZ Journal since May, 2005; Translated by Toshio Takahara and Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Jan. 5, 2006.
[5th posting of the intensive Course Material on a simplified form of TRIZ. Section I. It is critically important to understand the contradictions.  In conventional TRIZ theories, the concepts of Technical Contradictions (e.g., 'The rake may be improved in collecting debris while getting worse in extracting debris from the ground') and Physical Contradictions (e.g., 'The tines of the rake must be flexible and must be stiff') are used; however we should better have the concept of 'Complete Contradictions' unifying them (e.g., 'The tines of the rake must be flexible for collecting the debris and must be stiff for extracting debris embedded in the ground').  Diagram representation of the Contradictions are illustrated.  The Separation Principles for resolving these Contradictions may be extended from the ordinary ones of separation in space, in time, and between the whole and the parts, to new ones like gradual change, in direction, in perspective, in characteristics of the field, between substances and fields, etc.  The author has shown a large number of illustrations of classification of Contradictions and of various Inventive Principles for solving them.  -- This Chapter is the highlight of Ball's algorithm and contains a lot of useful insights.]

Forum: Conference Report: "Personal Report of TRIZCON2006: the 8th Annual Conference of Altshuller Institute for TRIZ Studies (Held on Apr. 30 - May 2, 2006, at Milwaukee, USA)" (Jun. 21, 2006)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Jun. 19, 2006
[80 + 50 Participants, with 3 tracks of Tutorials, 2 Keynote speeches, 20 oral presentations in 2 tracks, and 2 workshops.  All the presentations are reviewed; written in detail in English. Tatiyana Sidorchuk and William Brown gave Keynote Lectures on Creativity education for children. Boris Zlotin and Alla Zusman gave an intensive paper on the Patterns of Evolution.  Experiences of promoting TRIZ in Samsung Electronics were reported by Valery Krasnoslobodtsev.  Several case studies were reported especially from Asian countries, including Malaysia, China, Korea, Hong Kong, India, and Japan.]

 Paper:  "A System for Preventing from Our Leaving Things Behind -- A Case in 2-Day USIT Training Seminar"  (Feb. 1, 2006) (Jun. 21, 2006)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Presented at TRIZCON2006: the 8th Annual Conference of Altshuller Institute for TRIZ Studies, Held on Apr. 30 - May 2, 2006, at Milwaukee, USA.
[Documents produced at a USIT 2-Day Training Seminar conducted on Sept. 28-29, 2005 in Tokyo are vividly reported.  A team of 5 members analyzed the problem and generated a set of conceptual solutions.  This case shows the effectiveness of USIT for the type of problems for generating a set of new concepts, process-oriented, software related, and vague at first. The paper is posted in PDF (503 KB) .

Introduction Series (6): "Everyday-life Case Studies of TRIZ/USIT (2) How to Prevent from Shoplifting in Bookstores" (Part 6 of "TRIZ: Creative Problem Solving Methodology for Innovation") (Jun. 6, 2006)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "InterLab" (Optronics Ltd.), Jun. 2006, pp. 43-46, (published on May 15, 2006)
[Introduction to TRIZ, Part 6 of a long-run series.  A case study of applying TRIZ/USIT to an everyday-life problem is shown with reference to Naoya Hayashi, Thesis, Osaka Gakuin Univ., Jan. 2006 posted in "TRIZ Home Page by Students for Students" .  The problem is based on his experiences while working for a small bookstore in a suburban shopping center.  Problem definition; Problem analysis (Process of shoplifting, Relevant objects, Attributes of the objects, Space and Time characteristics, Core difficulty (or contradiction) of the problem); Solution generation (Reviewing conventional methods, New solution ideas).  In HTML and in PDF (365 KB).]

 Lecture Slides:  "TRIZ: Innovative Problem Solving Methodology - Its Significance and Current Status in Japan and the World"  (May 9, 2006)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Presented at the 2nd Technology Symposium "Toward the World-Leading Edge Manufacturing (2)" Held by 'Ohkan Rengo' on Apr. 17, 2006, at Hitachi Building, Ochanomizu, Tokyo.
[A lecture for 40 minutes for the introduction of TRIZ to managers and engineers in manufacturing industries.   Needs for methods of breaking through technical barriers; Overview of TRIZ; Essence of TRIZ philosophy; Knowledge bases in TRIZ; TRIZ ways of thinking for problem solving; Easy practice of problem solving with USIT; Real cases demonstrated the benefits of TRIZ; Current status of penetration; Significance of TRIZ; How to introduce TRIZ into industries.  PDF file of the presentation slides (500 KB). ]

Introduction Series (5): "Everyday-life Case Studies of TRIZ/USIT (1) How to Fix the String Found Shorter Than the Needle" (Part 5 of "TRIZ: Creative Problem Solving Methodology for Innovation") (May 9, 2006)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "InterLab" (Optronics Ltd.), May. 2006, pp. 49-54, (published on Apr. 15, 2006)
[Introduction to TRIZ, Part 5 of a long-run series.  As an easy introduction to TRIZ, student's case study of applying TRIZ/USIT to an everyday-life problem is shown.  (Ref. Tsubasa Shimoda, Thesis, Osaka Gakuin Univ., Jan. 2006; also see "TRIZ Home Page by Students for Students" and Nakagawa's Introduction to it.)  How to learn TRIZ case studies; Problem definition; Problem analysis (space and time characteristics, objects-attributes-functions, imagine an ideal solution); Solution generation(various known solutions, introducing extra things, modifying needles and strings, noble small tools, how the solution ideas were generated); lessons of this case study.In HTML and in PDF (365 KB).]

Series: Course Materials Illustrated (4): "Hierarchical TRIZ Algorithms" . "H. Turn Object Knobs to Fix the Problem"(May 9 , 2006)

Larry Ball (Honeywell, USA), Posted in TRIZ Journal since May, 2005; Translated by Toshio Takahara and Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Jan. 4, 2006.
[4th posting of the intensive Course Material on a simplified form of TRIZ. Section H. Turn the Object Knob (i.e. the Attribute) related to the main problem to a full extent (in various ways with reference to Inventive Principles) and find any resultant contradictions.]

 Paper:  "A New Paradigm for Creative Problem Solving: Six-Box Scheme in USIT without Depending on Analogical Thinking"  (Nov. 30, 2005) (Apr. 25, 2006)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Presented at the 27th Annual Conference of Japan Creativity Society, Held on Oct. 29-30, 2005, at National Center of Sciences, Tokyo.
English translation by Toru Nakagawa, Apr. 23, 2006.
[This is an extension of my TRIZCON2005 paper .  For creative problem solving, the Four-Box Scheme where the problem is solved at an abstract level has been accepted widely as the basic scheme.  The contents of the scheme, however, are not clearly described in general terms, and the analogical thinking depending on the searched hints is at the core of the scheme.  The author has represented the overall process of USIT in the data-flow diagram, and has obtained a new 'Six-Box Scheme'.  After examining the significance of this scheme, the author has concluded that the scheme provides a new paradigm for creative problem solving without depending on analogical thinking.  A concise paper of 6 pages in Japanese; 13 pages in English translation.  Posted both in HTML and in PDF format (391 KB) (210 KB) .  Slides for presentation in Japanese are also posted in PDF (39 KB) .  The English version will be posted in the TRIZ Journal, too.]

Introduction Series (4): "History of TRIZ (3) Acceptance and Penetration in Japan and Korea " (Part 4 of "TRIZ: Creative Problem Solving Methodology for Innovation") (Apr. 4, 2006)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "InterLab" (Optronics Ltd.), Apr. 2006, pp. 40-43, (published on Mar. 15, 2006)
[Introduction to TRIZ, Part 4 of a long-run series.  History of TRIZ in Japan and Korea: Prehistory and pioneers of introducing TRIZ in Japan; Introduction by "Nikkei Mechanical" journal; Activities by Mitsubishi Research Institute; Activities by SANNO Institute for Management; Nakagawa's activities with "TRIZ Home Page in Japan"; TRIZ textbooks in the early stage; Introducing TRIZ into industries at the early stages; 'Slow but Steady Strategy' for introducing TRIZ; Early stages of introducing TRIZ in Korea; Development of TRIZ in Japan; Current situations of TRIZ penetration in Japan; Company-wide penetration of TRIZ in Samsung, Korea. In HTML and in PDF (316 KB).]

Paper: "A New Paradigm of Creative Problem Solving (2) The Six-Box Scheme in USIT Illustrated with a Simple Case Study" (Apr. 4, 2006)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin University), Presented at the Third Symposium on Knowledge Creation Supporting Systems, held at JAIST (Japan Advanced Institute for Science and Technology), Ishikawa Prefecture, on Feb. 23-25, 2006.
[Slides for 30 minute talk and paper of 8 pages.  The Six-Box Scheme in USIT is a new understanding of the basic scheme of Creative Problem Solving.  For various technical problems, we analyze the problem with a set of standard methods, generate ideas by applying USIT Operators, and build them up into conceptual solutions.  The whole procedure of USIT is demonstrated with a simple case of 'How to make a knot with a string left shorter than the needle'.  Paper in HTML, Paper in PDF and slides in PDF .]

Series: Course Materials Illustrated (3): "Hierarchical TRIZ Algorithms" . "E. Simplify the System (IFR)", "F. What is the Main Problem".  "G. What Causes the Problem." (Apr. 4 , 2006)

Larry Ball (Honeywell, USA), Posted in TRIZ Journal since May, 2005; Translated by Toshio Takahara and Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), Jan. 3, 2006.
[3rd posting of the intensive Course Material on a simplified form of TRIZ. Section E: Consider to replace objects and functions in the current system with more ideal ones.  Section F: Define what you want to improve in a simple phrase; set it as the dependent variable.  Section G: List up the factors (the knobs) causing the problem and represent them in the cause-effect diagram.]

Paper: "Back to Creatability"  (Apr. 4, 2006), (Apr. 25, 2006)

Klaus-Juergen Uhrner (KACO GmbH + Co.KG, Germany), Presented at ETRIA TFC2005: The 5th ETRIA "TRIZ Future 2005" Conference, Held at Graz, Austria, on Nov. 16-18, 2005;
(Japanese translation by Toru Nakagawa (OGU) on Mar. 27, 2006; Posted on Apr. 4, 2006)

Introduction to Uhrner's Paper: "Benefits of TRIZ Have Been Proved with Real Industrial Data of Inventions".
by Toru Nakagawa (OGU), Dec. 29, 2005 and April 22, 2006; Posted (as a part of my ETRIA Report) on Jan. 13, 2006 and on Apr. 25, 2006.

[Amazing paper presented last year at ETRIA Conference.  The author has been using TRIZ since 1996 and four other engineers joined since 2000.  The author has analyzed the 165 inventions made in his company for these 30 years and has demonstrated the effects of TRIZ on them.  The average number of inventions per year raised from 3 to 9.4 after the introduction of TRIZ.  The qualities of the inventions were evaluated with the criteria of 'Levels of Innovation', a refinement of Altshuller's criteria.  The average level of their inventions has been found to have made a jump from 2.4 to 3.4 by the effects of TRIZ.  Those who believe it shall be saved!  Introduction by Nakagawa in HTML,and Paper by Uhrner in PDF .]

Forum: Introduction to: "TRIZ Home Page by Students for Students" (Mar. 17, 2006)

Built by Masayuki Hida, Tsubasa Shimoda, Naoya Hayashi, and Mizuo Omori (Students of Osaka Gakuin University), on Mar. 17, 2006; Introduced by Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin University)
[Four students who are just going to graduate our university at the end of this month have built a Web site named as "TRIZ Home Page for Students by Students".  They wrote the pages in my seminar class on 'Methodologies for Creative Problem Solving'.  The students frankly discussed on 'What have we learned in this class?' in early February and made a vivid record on their thoughts just before the graduation.  They also describe the activities in the seminar, group practices of problem solving, and their thesis works.  The site was initially planned to introduce TRIZ/USIT to students more or less formally, but was now built to describe much more frankly what the students learned and thought about.  The students pages are published in this site but separately in the editorship.]

Paper: "Software Engineering and TRIZ (2) Step-wise Refinement and the Jackson Method Reviewed with TRIZ" (Mar. 17, 2006)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin University), Presented at the ETRIA "TRIZ Future 2005" Conference, Held on Nov. 16-18, 2005, at Graz, Austria, pp. 370-392
[Paper presented last November.  Step-wise Refinement is a basic concept in computer science; TRIZ could learn much from it but can contribute to it with the idea of refinement in 'Another Dimension'.  The Jackson Structured Programming advises to 'reflect the data structures of inputs and outputs onto the structure of processing'; this is an idea TRIZ and hard technologies can learn.  Paper in HTML, Paper in PDF and slides in PDF .]

Paper: "TRIZ Application in Development of Climbing Robots" (Mar. 6, 2006)

Valeri Krasnoslobodtsev and Richard Langevin (Technical Innovation Center, USA), Presented at The First TRIZ Symposium in Japan, Held by the Collaborative Board of TRIZ Promoters and Users in Japan, on Sept. 1-3, 2006 at Shuzenji, Shizuoka.
[Paper presented last September. During 1986 through 1998 at St. Petersburg State University, the author developed robots which could climb various walls with uneven and clacked surfaces.  The paper describes in detail how the author applied TRIZ to the development, especially with ARIZ.  Paper in PDF and slides in PDF .]

Introduction Series (3): "History of TRIZ (2) Further Development in the USA and in Europe" (Part 3 of "TRIZ: Creative Problem Solving Methodology for Innovation") (Mar. 6, 2006)

Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin Univ.), "InterLab" (Optronics Ltd.), Mar. 2006, pp. 44-47, (published on Feb. 15, 2006)
[Introduction to TRIZ, Part 3 of a long-run series.  History of TRIZ after the end of the Cold War: Bases prepared for the immigration of TRIZ experts, Implementation into software tools by Invention Machine Inc., Activities by Ideation International Inc., The TRIZ Journal and other situations in USA, The Altshuller Institute for TRIZ Studies and its TRIZCONs, Propagation of TRIZ in Europe and organization of ETRIA, Darrell Mann and CREAX, Simplified methods of TRIZ.  In HTML and in PDF (338 KB).]

Series: Course Materials Illustrated (2): "Hierarchical TRIZ Algorithms" . "B. Clarify the System Functions", "C. Identify the Physical Phenomena ".  "D. Identify the System Objects." (Mar. 6, 2006)

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Last updated on  Nov. 10, 2022.    Access. point:  Editor: nakagawa@ogu.ac.jp