Case Studies In TRIZ: Re-Inventing Gravy And Sauces - Systematic ...

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space on the Figure 2 template. Solving a contradiction means either literally doing that (i.e. using the Contradiction Matrix/Inventive Principles) or more generally making some kind of discontinuous jump. In order to explore the ‘jump’ space, a ‘Voice Of The Product’ (Reference 2) analysis was conducted for both product and packaging. The results of the initial analysis is shown in the Evolution Potential radar plots in Figure 3. evolution jumps to powders, pastes & ready-mades Figure 3: Gravy Granule and Packaging – Current Evolutionary State Also shown in the plots are some of the jumps being made by competitors in the market space. Although a more detailed analysis revealed that the gravy-mix industry as a whole had been relatively static for a good number of years (there had in fact been just two trend jumps since the 1950s), it was also seen that competitors had jumped and that the manufacturer had not. Based on the untapped potential, the team conducted a short ‘trend-storm’ exercise in order to identify some of the possible jumps that the gravy granules themselves and the surrounding packaging could make. Proprietary restrictions prevent us from describing all of the ideas generated, but here are some of the ideas and the trends that the idea emerged from in order to provide a flavour of the outcome of this session: • Hollow/porous granules (improved dissolution; Space Segmentation) • Addition of vitamins/other nutrients (added nutrition; Mono-Bi-Poly) • Different colours (emphasise multi-functionality; Increasing Colour) • Segmented flavour/thickening (ease of use; Action Co-ordination) • Active elements (effervescence/improved dissolution; Smart Materials) • Transparent packaging (pre-purchase visibility; Increasing Transparency) • Segmented packaging (separate ingredients; Space Segmentation • Colour-change packaging (increased feedback; Smart Materials) All in all, this ‘Voice of the Granule’/’Voice of the Packaging’ exercise saw the generation of over a hundred possible future evolution directions. When we attempted a short contradiction analysis to complement this activity (typical examples: we want fresh-and-long-life, easy-to-make-and-authentic), the number of
ideas increased further. This quantity of ideas turned out to be more of a problem than a solution to the innovation/brand challenge. In order to help solve that problem the team moved next to the other side of the ‘Voice’ story and to the second space on the Figure 2 ‘where to innovate’ template: Stage 0.5: The Slightly-Less-Fuzzy-Front-End – Voice Of The Customer We were at the beginning of day three of the project by this stage. What we were now looking for was a ‘quick and dirty’ perspective on ‘the consumer’. We knew we wanted to do this as we didn’t have the time or resources to test a hundred different concepts with real consumers. The chosen starting point was a high level look at societal patterns. The closest thing to TRIZ in this area is the Fourth Turning work on generational cycles conducted by US historians William Strauss and Neil Howe (Reference 3). Figure 4 plots a graph of some of the more recent generations, adjusted for differences between the UK and US. Figure 4: Generation Cycles For The Last 60 Years The basic finding of the Fourth Turning research is that societies pass through repeating generational cycles. The ultimate in order emerging from chaos; the way we were brought up as children in turn affects the way that we bring up our own children; the way our friends were brought up likewise affects us as we affect them. One big, fuzzy self-organizing system - according to Strauss and Howe. Incidentally our own ongoing research programme in the UK (Reference 4). Figure 4 contains a lot of information. Let’s start with the diagonal lines. These denote the boundaries between generations and also the trajectory of a person’s life. Someone born in 1962 is thus seen to be right on the boundary between what turned out to be the Baby Boomer and X generations. In 2008 that person born in 1962 has followed the line up the ‘age’ y axis, and is therefore now 46. Parallel to this generational boundary is the more recent shift between Generation X and Generation Y (Y babies were born during the period ~1982-2000). This is significant in the context of the gravy problem. If we look at the state of the generations in 2008, we see there are some significant
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Page 3: strong consumer drives towards both
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Case Studies In TRIZ: Re-Inventing Gravy And Sauces - Systematic ...

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