Design Research

Systematic Inventive Thinking

Larry Fenske Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Design Research

Identifying Opportunities – Informing Design

Design Research

Review of research methodologies covered so far;

Design Research

Review of research methodologies covered so far;

• User-Centered

Design Research

Review of research methodologies covered so far;

• User-Centered

• Market-Centered

Design Research

Review of research methodologies covered so far;

• User-Centered

• Market-Centered

• Technology-Centered

Secondary Research• Mining the Gap• Segmentation (Demographic/Psychographic/Behavioral)Primary Research/Analysis• A (x4) Analysis• Styleboards• Ethnographic Discovery Qualitative/Quantitative

– Passive - Photo/Video Ethnography – Active – Interviewing/Surveys – Likert

questions/coding– Combined Ethnography - bag ethnography– Immersive Observation– Participatory Design

• Usability Testing (ease of use/functionality/errors, etc.)• Product Semantics/Emotional Response (reflection, etc.)• Ergonomic/Anthropometric Research

User Centered Design Research

Fiskars hammer test, Larry Fenske, 2000

Human Factors Research

Product/Market Opportunities• Market Matrices• Trend Analysis

–market demographics– fashion trends–cultural trends– technology trends

Market Centered Design Research

Product/Market Opportunities• Market Matrices• Trend Analysis

–market demographics– fashion trends–cultural trends– technology trends – can be concerned

with new technology already in the marketplace - in the form of products (Gizmodo.com), or . . .

Market Centered Design Research

Product/Market Opportunities• Market Matrices• Trend Analysis

–market demographics– fashion trends–cultural trends– technology trends – can be concerned

with new technology already in the marketplace - in the form of products (Gizmodo.com), or, new developments in science, technology and materials that can drive innovation.

Market Centered Design Research

New developments in science, technology and materials can drive innovation.Examples: • New technologies can create new product categories (cell phones, microwave ovens, etc.), or, simply drive incremental changes.

• Materials research/testing can drive product improvement (Santoprene™ soft grips, etc.), or create new product categories (Thermorest™ mattresses, etc.)

Focusing on technology, or more generally on the product can lead to innovative design approaches that might not be discovered through user or market driven research.

(Of course the resulting designs should be validated by user research to make sure they satisfy user needs)

Technology Centered Design Research

Identifying Opportunities on the “Front End of Innovation”

Innovation is different from Discovery

While Discovery is uncovering information that can inform design, Innovation is creating a new approach to address a problem – which can lead to innovative design.

Tools for Innovation

TRIZTRIZ was developed in the mid-20th century by Genrich Altschuller, a Russian engineer, by studying over 200,000 patents revealing patterns in the approaches that were successful in deriving inventive solutions. TRIZ is technology and Physics based, and suggests the consideration of alternative solutions such as using adhesives were fasteners had been used before, or vacuum rather than mechanical clamping, chemicaletching instead of abrasives, etc.

Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT)Systematic Inventive Thinking is based on the premise that innovative or inventive solutions share common patterns comprised of a series of templates to be applied to an existing situation.

Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT)

Five Basic Thinking Templates:1. Subtraction2. Division3. Replacement4. Multiplication5. Feature Dependency

Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT)Basic Thinking Templates

Subtraction (or Reduction)

1.List components2.Take away an essential component from a product.3.Imagine the resulting product.4.Ask who would use or benefit from this product?

(you can think of it as the opposite of Addition –which is a common method for incremental change in the marketplace – adding features).

Example of Subtraction

• Choose a product - A television• List components

1. Screen2. Speakers3. Enclosure4. Remote5. Plug

Example of Subtraction

• Loose the screen =

a remote controlled radio

• Loose the plug = cordless television

• Loose the speakers, add text = television for a deaf person, or anyone who needs quiet viewing.

Another Example of Subtraction

Apple iBook™ and keyboard

Another Example of Subtraction

Apple iPad™

More Examples of Subtraction

Dyson vacuum cleaner – no bags

More Examples of Subtraction

Soup mix – sold with no water

More Examples of Subtraction

baby seat – no legs

More Example of Subtraction

Kathryn Gregory – Age 10, Inventor of “Wristies™”

Example of Subtraction

Subtraction (or Reduction)

1.Take away an essential component from a product.2.Imagine the resulting product.3.Ask who would use or benefit from this product?

(you can think of it as the opposite of Addition – which is a common method for incremental change in the marketplace – adding features).

Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT)Basic Thinking Templates

Division

1. List the components of the product or service2. Divide out the components either physically,

functionally, or by preserving the characteristics of the whole.

3. Imagine the resulting product.4. Ask who would use or benefit from this

product?

Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT)Basic Thinking Templates

Replacement

1. Find a product and list all of it’s component parts. Multiply or create a copy of one of the parts

2. Change the multiplied component in some way.

3. Imagine the resulting product.4. Ask who would use or benefit from this

product?

Examples - Replacement Template

1. Stapler > “Tape-ler2. Ice Skate > Rollerblade3. Pop-top can > Twist-top can4. Phone Cradle > Belt holster

Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT)Basic Thinking Templates

Multiplication

1. Find a product and list all of it’s component parts.

2. Multiply or create a copy of one of the parts3. Change the multiplied component in some

way.4. Imagine the resulting product.5. Ask who would use or benefit from this

product?

Systematic Inventive Thinking (SIT)Basic Thinking Templates

Feature Dependency

1. Find a product scenario and list all of it’s the major components of the system (product, user, immediate environment).

2. List all of the features (not parts) of each major component.

3. Take one feature from one list and pair it with each feature from another list.

4. Imagine that one feature changes when something about another feature changes.

5. Imagine potential for the resulting product – ask who would use or benefit from this product?

Adapted from: http://www.innovationpractice.com/innovation_in_practice/2010/11/the-lab-innovation, November 17, 2011

Demonstration: Try applying at least two templates.