Systematic Inventive Thinking by Professor Vijay Tandon

Prof. Vijay Tandon
Director - PGDM/PGCM
Universal Business School
Subject - Innovation, Topic - SIT
Vijay Tandon on Systematic Inventive Thinking @ UBS (Subject - Innovation)

“The best system is when there is no syste
Vijay Tandon on Systematic Inventive Thinking (Part I) @ UBS (Subject - Innovation)

Creativity - Thinking patterns
Two different Outlooks on creative thinking..
Convergent Divergent
Divergent thinking is the process
of creating many unique
solutions in order to solve a
problem
convergent thinking is
systematic and logical,
unlike divergent thinking, which
is spontaneous and free-flowing

Convergent
Divergent

Systematic Inventive Thinking

SIT
Systematic Inventive Thinking
SIT is a thinking method developed in Israel in the mid-1990s.
Derived from Genrich Altshuller’s TRIZ engineering discipline
GENRICH ALTSHULLER

SIT
Genrich Altshuller’s - Russian Engineer
Analyzed over 2,00000 Patents
Identify - 40 common Inventive principles
Unique formula - TRIZ
TIPS - Theory of Inventive problem solving
Inventive solutions share common platform
Focus - Not what makes inventive solutions different but on what they share in common
Core to SIT approach

Creativity - Approaches
Creativity
(Disordered thinking & Idea
generating)
Systematic
Inventive thinking
& idea focussing
Two different Outlooks on creative thinking..

From TRIZ to SIT
TRIZ
(Unique formula)
SIT
TIRZ to SIT - Desire to create a method easier to learn & retain
More universal in application (Achieved through elimination of engineering specific tools)

SIT - Practical approach
Problem
solving
InnovationCreativity

SIT - Deals with two key areas
Creativity
(Ideation of New
Idea)
Problem
solving
Quantitative increase of ideas will lead to qualitative improvement..

Five Unique Thinking Tools of SIT
Subtraction Multiplication Division
Task
Unification
Attribute
Variables

Multiplication
 Add to a Product component of same type
 More & different
 Introducing a slightly modified copy of an existing object
2
Subtraction
 Remove an essential/Core Components
 The path of most resistance1
Division
 Divide the product/Component & re-arrange them (degree of freedom)
 New product3
Task unification
 Assign a New & additional task
 Existing resource4
Attribute dependency
 Creating & dissolving (removal) dependencies between variables
 Works with variables rather than components - Size, color, material
 Example - Color changes with temperature
5

 Select an essential component & imagine removing it. 2 Ways
 - Full subtraction
 - Partial subtraction (Take one of the features/functions away or diminish it)
2
 List the products or service’s internal components1
 Visualize the resulting concept (no matter how strange it seems)3
 Ask - What are the potential benefits, markets and values. Who would want this new product/service, & why
would they find it valuable? You can replace the component with either an internal or an external
component. What are the potential benefits, markets & values of the revised concept.
4
 If you decide this new product/Service is valuable, then ask - Is it feasible? Can you actually create this new
products? Perform new services? Why or why not? Is there any way to refine or adapt the idea to make it
more viable.
5

Common pitfalls in using Subtraction
 Taking out bad
components to
improve the
performance is not
using ST.
 It is fine tuning the
characteristics of
the product
 Temptation will be
to look at the
strange new
configuration
 Key is to mentally
visualize and focus
on what is left in
the system rather
than focusing on
what is missing
 Eliminating an
essential
component can
assault senses &
sensibilities
 Taking out a core
function can lead to
innovative ideas,
but these situations
are rare.
Don’t take out
troublesome
component
Try taking out
essential
component
Avoid
immediately
replacing SC
Don’t succumb
to cognitive
dissonance
 Subtraction is not
the same as a
common marketing
technique called
Unbundling”
 Unbundling is
taking out features
or downgrading the
quality of
components
 Taking value out of
the product/service
to set out a lower
price
Avoid simple
unbundling

Closed World Approach
Resources
outside
Closed
World
approach
One must utilize only elements already existing in the product/problem or Immediate env.
Condition forces - Rely on resources at our disposal

SIT - Out of the Box thinking, to Inside the box thinking
The Closed World Approach
Closed World condition - Provokes resistance
Creative thinking - “Thinking out of the BOX”
Forces thinker - Creative solution
Heavily limiting the space of possibilities

Problem solving - SIT
Define the problem World Solution requires re-organization - Existing objects
From TRIZ to SIT
Albert Einstein - If I had 60 minutes to solve a problem. I will take 45 minutes to define the problem & 15 minutes to solve it

Problem solver knows that all the building blocks for the solution are right
there in front of him and the solution simply requires Re-organization of the
existing objects
TEMPLATE APPROACH

SIT - Principles
Qualitative change
(Main problem element-eliminated or reversed)
Function follows form
(Ronald Finke - Backwards process.
Existing resource base rather than specific needs)
Form follows function

Cognitive fixedness (Types of fixedness)
Dunker sees Functional fixedness “Mental Block” against using an object in a NEW WAY that is required to
solve a problem
Structural fixedness - Tendency to view object as a whole, which often makes it difficult to imagine how
the product could be re-organized to look differently. Example - TV controls (lower part of the TV set)

Change is good; be the first

Innovating Inside the box
The real wisdom is to think
within a framework of constraints &
THINK INSIDE THE BOX
Look at the world through “RESOURCE EYES” anything can be a resource

Paradigm - Shift from “Think out of the box to think inside the box”
Vijay Tandon on Systematic Inventive Thinking @ UBS (Subject - Innovation)

Systematic Inventive Thinking by Professor Vijay Tandon

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