Shortly after the Second World War, a brilliant and original
thinker based in Stalin's Russia, Genrich Saulovich Altshuller
began studying and cataloguing patents with the aim of developing
principles of engineering innovation. Out of that work - involving
the analysis of a total of 1.5 million patents - was born a methodology
for creative engineering design called 'TRIZ'. With the advent
of modern computing, TRIZ methodology is now available in many
different software formats and there is a huge support network
for enthusiasts - or 'TRIZniks' as they sometimes call themselves.
It is difficult to give definitive sites for further investigation
- there are so many, but I suggest you visit www.trizexperts.net,
www.triz.org and www.triz-journal.com, for starters.
This month, as you might have guessed, I'm going to talk about
software aids to creativity. But before I leave the subject of
TRIZ, it is worth mentioning the TRIZsoft group of products from
Ideation International (www.ideationtriz.com). Ideation/TRIZ or
I-TRIZ is based on the analysis of over 3 million patents and is
available in a variety of tools, including Eureka on Demand, Ideation
Brainstorming and Innovation Workbench. Other I-TRIZ applications
have been adapted to predict failures in systems or products and
offer useful tools for risk assessment studies.
Bringing a highly structured approach to the process of innovation
is Invention Machine's (www.invention-machine.com) Goldfire Innovator.
This inventive problem-solving software is combined with a huge
amount of patent and scientific content, including access to more
than 15 million world-wide patents, a database of over 8,000 scientific
effects and access to more than 3,000 cross-disciplinary scientific
'deep web' sites.
Going off on a tangent, I believe that a preparatory brainstorming
session can establish important criteria at the start of a product
development cycle. Naturally, the best brainstorming sessions involve
lots of individuals bouncing ideas off each other but you can exercise
your own brainstorming techniques on a PC running appropriate software.
One such package is Brainstorming Toolbox from Infinite Innovations
(www.infinn.com), which allows you to brainstorm successfully by
yourself, using the computer to steer you in alternate directions.
You can actually have some fun in this area by taking part in an
online brainstorming 'game'. One such is Idealyst from Applied
Marketing Science (www.ams-inc.com)
Turning to a different but related subject, 'mind mapping' is
a technique developed by Tony Buzan during the 1960s to help students
assimilate information, and to foster clearer thinking among planners
and innovators. A mind map is essentially a graphics technique
that gives you an overview of a large and complex subject such
as a business venture or an engineering design project. Its key
function is to overcome information overload, and present data
in a way that lets you see a clear pathway to your goals. Well
that's the theory, at least! Early mind mapping involved a pencil
and a sheet of paper. Now, of course, there are many software packages
that can help you use this technique to its full capabilities.
A few worth mentioning here are ConceptDraw MindMap (www.conceptdraw.com),
now in version 4.0 and providing an excellent project planning
tool among others; SmartDraw 7 Suite (www.smartdraw.com), a 'wizard-rich'
environment that leads you by the hand through this fascinating
methodology, and Visual Mind 7 (www.visual-mind.com), which offers
lots of useful functions such as linking phone numbers or even
specialist news feeds to map branches. In addition, you should
take a look at MindManager (http://mind.adeptscience.co.uk) and
MindGenius (www.mindgenius.com).
Dr Know's recommended download is Maple 10 Brochure - download
yours today.