Creative tools, also known as creative thinking tools or problem-solving tools, are an inseparable part of an innovation project. As we keep describing in many of our blog posts, creative thinking tools help us think and focus our thinking on the right direction to solve the problem and innovate. In this article, we describe how to use the tools page of the PRIZ Innovation Platform. In the scope of the innovation project, you can use any tool an unlimited number of times. Every time you use a tool it is recorded and shown on this page of the project. Creative…

As problem solvers, we are typically surrounded by a “wall” of psychological inertia. This keeps us within the boundaries of the previous experience. In other words, psychological inertia always pushes a problem solver to “look for a lost wallet under a streetlight.” In this post, we want to show how problem-solving (or creative thinking) tools can help us break through this wall of psychological inertia. What are these problem-solving tools for? As mentioned above, problem-solving tools, or sometimes referred to as creative thinking tools, help us break through the “wall” of the psychological inertia and enter the field of new…

The systems we live with are not ideal; and, our lives are certainly not ideal. We all got problems that we have to solve every day. Even a decision to not solve the problem and leave it as-is is a type of problem-solving. We already published in one of our blogs, Where do problems come from? What generates a problem, and described where problems originate from. Types of problems There are generally two types of problems. Predictable problems For instance: low production yield, high level of defects.Predictable problems are typically solved slowly, scientifically by creating and completing projects bringing only…

As an engineer or innovator, you may often find yourself faced with complex problems that require a solution. In these situations, it can be tempting to rely solely on your own knowledge and experience to find a solution. However, have you ever considered the benefits of using problem-solving tools? Why do we need these tools, and what can we gain from incorporating creative thinking instruments into our problem-solving process? In this article, we’ll explore the importance of problem-solving tools and the advantages they offer for engineers and innovators. Let’s start with a definition, and try to answer what is engineering…

Process Functional Modeling (PFM) is an analytical tool that helps us to learn the process through modeling different operations of the process, solving problems, and defining ways to improve to any process. PFM is built to make better strategic and tactical decisions in identifying opportunities for improvement and implementing solutions in complex processes in an organization. This help article describes a step by step instructions on how a problem solver can effectively use the process functional modeling method to better identify how the problem can be caused and which process operation is responsible for it. First, let’s take care of…

Any organization or an individual that provides products or services always asks what is it the potential or existing customer wants. Many approaches exist trying to answer this question. Some of which include asking the client what they what, what are they missing, what issues they have, etc. All of these questions are targeted to understand the problems that target clients have, so we can create a product or service to solve these problems. The main issue with such an approach is that clients, for the most part, don’t really know what they want, let alone, need. Concept We are…

The Eisenhower Matrix is a productivity, prioritization, and time-management framework designed to help you prioritize a list of tasks or agenda items by first categorizing those items according to their urgency and importance. In PRIZ Innovation Platform we call this tool the Urgency Importance Matrix (UIM). First, however, we should answer the question of what is urgent and what is important? Urgency & Importance In general, the meanings of these words are fairly clear. And yet, how do you define what is urgent and what is important. This appears to be not a very straightforward job. To make it a bit…

A cause-effect diagram is a visual tool that we can use to logically organize possible causes for a specific problem or effect by graphically displaying them in increasing detail, suggesting causal relationships among theories. There are a number of popular types of these tools. In this help article, we are going to provide step-by-step instructions on how to use the Cause and Effect Chain tree diagram offered by the PRIZ Innovation Platform. Using Cause & Effect Chain Here, we assume that you already know how to start using a new tool. For more information about that visit Creative Tools article. Cause and…