A case study of triz on brassiere strap

TheApplicationofTRIZtoTechnologyForecastingACaseStudy:BrassiereStrapTechnologyKimLovel,ChadSeastrunk,TimothyClappCollegeofTextiles,NorthCarolinaStateUniversity,Raleigh,USAE-mail:[e-mail],I.P.Discovery,Inc.,Cary,USAE-mail:[e-mail]:TRIZ,MaturityMapping,TechnologyForecasting,Bra,Brassiere,ProductDevelopment,InnovationAbstractCompaniesmustcontinuallydevelopnewproductsorimproveuponexistingideasinordertokeepupwithcompetitivemarkets.OnetooltostimulatecreativeproductdevelopmentisTRIZ(TheoryofInventiveProblemSolving).ThispaperdescribesacasestudyapplyingTRIZtoforecastthetechnologydevelopmentofthebrastrap.TheTRIZmethodologyisusedtodeterminetheexistingstateofthetechnologyanditsfuturepotential.ItisshownhowTRIZcanbeusedtostimulatenewproductideas.TechnologyForecasting–WhyTRIZ?Intoday’scompetitivemarket,manufacturingcompaniesarelookingforanedgeontheircompetitors.Oneareainwhichthisedgecanbegainedisthedevelopmentofinnovativenewproducts.Thereisamultitudeoftraditional,establishedforecastingtools,suchasintuitiveorjudgmentalmodels,curvefittingandextrapolationoftrends,orstatisticaltimeseriesmodels,usedtoaidacompany’sresearchanddevelopmentdepartmentinmakingstrategicdecisionsforproductdevelopment[1,2].Generally,theseforecastingmethodsarebasedonthechoiceandanalysisofindividual,specificparametersasdescriptorsofthetechnology.Asaresult,theconcludedforecastsmaybesubjectiveandmaynotreflectallaspectsofthetechnology.Adifferent,complementaryapproachtotechnologyforecastingisprovidedbytoolsoftheTheoryofInventiveProblemSolving,knownbytheRussianacronymTRIZ.TheTRIZapproachisstructuredandsystematic,assuringaclose-to-objectiveanalysisoftheentiretechnologicalsystemfromthepasttothefuture.Inaddition,theTRIZforecastingmethodologyseamlesslyexpandstoproduceinnovativeideasfornewproductdevelopmentbasedonthestatusoftheproducttechnologyinthemarket[3].TRIZBackgroundInthe1940’s,RussianInventorGenrichAltshullerdevelopedatheorytodescribehowinventionsaregenerated,basedontheextensiveanalysisofthousandsofpatents.HisresearchledtothecreationofthetheoreticalsuperstructureTRIZ.TRIZisasystemofmanypowerfultoolsforproblemsanalysis,understandingandsolution,whichcanbeappliedtoaccelerateproductdevelopmentresultinginapatentedsolution[4].SeveralTRIZtoolsfocusonproblemsolvingduringproductdevelopment,suchasthe40Principlestosolvecontradictions,theconceptofIdeality,ortheSubstance-FieldAnalysis.Inaddition,TRIZofferstoolstodeterminethestatusandthefutureofaspecificproducttechnology.Someofthetoolsusedare:•Analysisofthetechnologicalsysteminthepast,presentandfuture•Analysisofthetechnologicalsystematdifferentdetaillevels•Determinationoftrendsofevolution•Maturitymapping[3,4]ThepurposeofthispaperistoshowhowTRIZcanforecastandinnovatetheproductdevelopmentprocessusingthebrastrapasacasestudy.ThesystematicapproachinthisstudyshowsthattheTRIZmethodoftechnologyforecastingcanseamlesslyleadintonew,innovativeproductideas.Theseideascanaccelerateacompany’sproductdevelopmentprocessasawhole.HistoryoftheBraThetermbrassierewasfirstutilizedbyVogueMagazinein1907,butfirstrecordsofbra-likegarmentsdatebackto2500BC.Thefirstknownpatentsforthesedeviceswerefiledinthe1850’s.In1893,MarieTucekdesignedthefirstbrassierethatresembledthemoderndaybrassiere[5].Thedesignconsistedofaseparatepocketforeachbreast,hook-and-eyeclosures,andshoulderstraps.Sincethen,thecomponentsofthebrahaveevolvedaccordingtorequiredfunctionsandchangingfashion.Someofthemanyfunctionsincludeminimizing,enhancing,supporting,andincreasingcomfort.TRIZPatternsofEvolutionofTechnologicalSystemsInhisanalysisofpatentsinmanydifferenttechnologies,Altshullerrecognizedeightpatternsinhowsystemsdevelopovertime[4,6,7]:1.EvolutioninStages(Technicalsystemfollowsthebiologicals-curve)2.EvolutionTowardsIncreasedIdeality3.Non-uniformDevelopmentofSystemElements(Subsystemsevolveatdifferentrates)4.EvolutionTowardIncreasedDynamismandControllability5.IncreasedComplexitythenSimplification(Reduction)6.EvolutionwithMatchingandMismatchingComponents7.EvolutionTowardMicro-levelandIncreasedUseofFields8.EvolutionTowardDecreasedHumanInvolvementTheseeightpatternscanbeexploitedindividuallytoanalyzewhereatechnologyiscomingfrom,andtogenerateideasaboutwherethetechnologywillevolveinthefuture.Inthefollowingsectionsofthispaper,severaltoolsrelatingtotheindividualpatternsofevolutionwillbeusedtodeterminethestateofbrastraptechnology,anddevelopnewproductideas.EvolutioninStages-TRIZMaturityMappingBiologicalandtechnologicalsystemsgothroughdifferentstepsofevolution.Altshullerusedhisresearchtocategorizeevolutionintofourstages:infancy,growth,maturity,anddecline.Theutilizationofthistheoryallowscompaniestonotonlyseethecurrentstateofthetechnology,butalsotobeabletopredictitsfuturefateandpotential.Figure1showsthe“BiologicalS-Curve”developedbyAltshuller[4].TimePerformanceInfancyGrowth(MassProduction)DeclineMaturityNewTechnicalSystemisInventedSystemPerformanceApproachesOptimumMajorProblemswithSystemareOvercomeFigure1:BiologicalS-Curve[4,8]Inordertodetermineatwhichs