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During the last decades, product design has yielded several interest by scholars, leading to a great amount of contributions concerning design methodology. Some of them, beyond modeling the whole design process, propose their model of the early design activities devoted to the development of the product concept, i.e. the conceptual design phase. These design approaches are widely diffused in academia. However, some uncertainties appear in literature, concerning their efficacy in performing innovative design. This observation forms the basis of this work, which aims at improving classical design processes by integrating their procedure with the TRIZ base of knowledge. To achieve such an objective, authors’ approach consists in considering generally valid steps of the conceptual design process, and then in identifying most suitable TRIZ tools for each of them. A structured list of suggestions concerning the proposed integration is finally presented, together with an explanatory case study application of the proposed improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Product Architecture definition plays more and more a crucial role for enhancing product customizability, easing after-sale management and reducing manufacturing costs. Despite major efforts have been dedicated to the development of methods and tools supporting Product Architecture definition for “Adaptive Design” tasks, no real means are available while addressing more radical innovation activities. The paper proposes a critical overview of TRIZ models and tools to evaluate their potential integration into a comprehensive methodology for Product Architecture definition. A comparison with the three major modularity methods is performed with the aim to establish how TRIZ can be located thereupon to current state of the art of Product Architecture management. An academic case study is discussed, in order to show how the OTSM Network of Problems approach can bring a significant contribution in that sense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, a growing consensus is attributed to conceptual design in the perspective of developing effective and successful products; as a consequence, major efforts should be dedicated within the Computer-Aided Innovation field to correctly support this task. A particular line of evolution of these systems concern computer coaches, i.e. software applications capable to assist users along each step of design activities. In such perspective the authors have developed a dialogue-based system supporting a natural language questioning procedure to investigate technical problems through TRIZ way of thinking. An emerging deficiency of its first version concerns limited capabilities in providing a broad screening of the issues and features relevant within the encountered inventive problems. The integration of a further analysis module supporting the logic of the TRIZ System Operator has allowed the individuation of effective resources for breaking technical conflicts inherent to the investigated systems or formalizing contradictions in TRIZ terms. The paper provides further support about the need of developing broad thinking skills in engineering education. The new generation of Computer-Aided systems is extending its scope, by supporting the user already from the early design stages, where creativity and cognitive processes are of paramount importance. In such context, the authors have developed a natural language dialogue-based framework capable to coach designers in investigating non-routine technical problems through a TRIZ way of thinking. The first version of the questioning procedure has showed limitations in terms of the capability to widen the designer's perspective, resulting in the overlooking of aspects relevant for the problem. The new version of the dialogue-based system integrates a further analysis module, here presented, supporting the logic of the TRIZ System Operator. New tests demonstrate that the modification allows to improve the quality of the analyses, especially in terms of the identification of features to be advantageously redesigned in order to solve the addressed problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Within the framework of the Research Project PROSIT [1] aimed at the development of an integrated product design platform capable to link Computer-Aided Innovation (CAI) with PLM/EKM systems, the authors have approached the analysis of the contradictions emerging during the design embodiment phase. In this case, since the functional architecture of the product is already fixed, design conflicts arise due to contradictory geometrical requirements. Design Optimization systems can play a relevant role for the identification of these “geometrical contradictions”, even if with modified criteria of usage. The present paper first describes how Design Optimization can be adopted as a means to link CAI and PLM/EKM systems; then a detailed analysis of geometrical contradictions is reported together with the criteria proposed for their categorization. Finally, the discussion is focused on the adoption of the proposed classification of geometrical contradictions as a pointer to the most suitable inventive principles and geometrical effects to overcome the design conflicts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Marketing strategies are focusing on innovation as the key for being competitive; as a consequence, product development processes must be improved in order to have a link as close as possible between conceptual design and detailed design activities. Within this context, TRIZ and TRIZ-based methodologies and tools are still poorly integrated with product embodiment means: CAD/CAE systems are not suited for supporting the designer in the conceptual design phase and at the same time inventive/separation principles, standard solutions etc. can hardly be translated into a modification of a CAD model and the only opportunity is to restart the modeling process. A small consortium of Italian Universities is analyzing the opportunity to use Design Optimization tools as a means for linking Computer-Aided Innovation (CAI) tools with Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) systems: www.kaemart.it/prosit. Among the specific objectives of the project, this paper describes how to analyze TRIZ technical contradictions by means of Design Optimization tools, with the aim of translating them into physical contradictions. The suggestions provided by inventive/separation principles are therefore converted into a new Design Optimization problem for the development of a novel solution. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]