TRIZ Paper


Red, Green, and Blue
- Situational Improvement Using Southbeach

Howard Smith (CSC European Group, UK)

BPTrends (Business Process Trends), Jan. 4, 2011;

White Paper, Southbeach Solutions Ltd., UK

Japanese translation by Toru Nakagawa (OGU)

Posted: Jun. 9, 2013

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Editor's Note (Toru Nakagawa, Jun. 9, 2013)

Under the kind permission by the author, I am very happy to be able to post this excellent paper which was first published in BPTrends (Business Process Trends) in January 2011, and also in the Southbeach Solutions Ltd.'s Web site as a white paper. The original English version is reposted here in PDF .  I have translated it into Japanese and posted it in the Japanese page of this Web site .

The present paper describes the basic philosophy and application of the modelling method, i.e. Southbeach notation, and its software implementation, i.e. Southbeach Modeller.

'Situation' (in the title) means the present world of interest containing various problems, targets, and contradictions, and we want to improve it into more desirable one.  For such a purpose of improvement in general, the author has created a modelling method, or a modelling language named Southbeach Notation. He also explains in the present paper about the thinking method with full use of the modelling language, and about the ways of getting the team aligned by using the models. 

For representing the situation, the author uses diagrams with boxes and arrows.  Boxes represent things and facts while arrows the relationships between the boxes.  Red shows something harmful (such as problems), while green something useful (such as solutions).  The situation can be represented with diagrams made in various perspectives and then analyzed.  Getting ideas to be implemented together, the actions are drawn in blue boxes in the diagram.  The Southbeach Notation is a consistent modelling language with a rich set of features.

I was most impressed with the present paper in the point that the modelling method allows to represent different and conflicting views and opinions with the diagrams and to guide the group of different people toward alignment for improving the situation.  The author explains such a process convincingly (or 'logically') by using a number of examples.  The author is a specialist in the field of IT and Business Process Management (BPM), and introduced TRIZ, especially its concepts of contradictions and their separations, into this work.  He talks about contradictions and problem solving in common cases in the business field instead of technological field.  I feel his explanations fresh and insightful.  His writings are easy and convincing for people in non-technological fields, I am sure.

The present modelling method/tool can be used universally with a large range of methods and techniques for problem solving and group decision making.  This is wonderful.  I have been promoting since last year to establish a 'general methodology for creative problem solving and task achieving'. Hence I feel much encouraged with the fact that such an approach of generalized and universal methods can be supported by the present universal modelling technique.

I have translated this paper into Japanese and posted it in the Japanese page .  The 27 diagrams in Japanese were drawn by myself with the use of Southbeach Modeller while looking at the printed English versions.  The drawing work was done in less than a day; I was much impressed with the software tool in its easiness to learn and convenience to use.

I have made a page of Southbeach Forum on Southbeach modelling and its software tool for introducing, evaluating, and communicating on them.  And I also started 'CrePS-SB Project' for trial use of the modelling tool .  I have written a brief note on how to use the software tool for the beginners . The relevant pages are currently written only in Japanese.

 


Red, Green, and Blue - Situational Improvement Using Southbeach
Howard Smith (CSC European Group, UK)
BPTrends, Jan. 4, 2011; White Paper, Southbeach Solutions Ltd., UK

 

PDF (27 pages, 809 KB)

Link to the original publisher: http://bptrends.com/publicationfiles/THREE%2001-02-2010-ART-Red%2C%20Green%20and%20Blue-Smith%20Proofed.pdf

 

Japanese translation by Toru Nakagawa   

 

Top of the page Original paper in PDF Southbeach Modeller Overview Southbeach Web site   Southbeach Forum in this site   Japanese page

 

 

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Last updated on Jun. 9, 2013.     Access point:  Editor: nakagawa@ogu.ac.jp