TRIZ Paper: Japan TRIZ Symposium 2010


Japan-oriented Creative Monozukuri (manufacturing and production) with TRIZ
Takuo Maeda (Takumi System Architects, Ltd.)
The Sixth TRIZ Symposium in Japan,
Held by Japan TRIZ Society on Sept. 9-11, 2010 at Kanagawa Institute of Technology, Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan
Introduction (from "Personal Report of Japan TRIZ Symosium 2010" ) by Toru Nakagawa (OGU), Apr. 2, 2011
Posted: Sept. 25, 2010

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Editor's Note (Toru Nakagawa, Sept. 23, 2011)

This paper was presented last year by Takuo Maeda in an Oral session of the 6th TRIZ Symposium in Japan, 2010 .  Japan TRIZ Society has posted the presentation slides of this paper, among other contributed papers, in PDF in its Members-only page of the Official Site since last March.   . 

For wider circulation of TRIZ papers, I have selected about half of the papers presented at the Japan TRIZ Symposium 2010 and am posting them publicly in this Web site both in English and in Japanese, under the permission of the authors.  Nakagawa's introduction/review to each paper was written and posted in "Personal Report of Japan TRIZ Symosium 2010" from November 2010 to April 2011, and is reposted in each page of the paper.

The present page is composed of the followings:

English page (the present page) Japanese page
Abstract (in HTML)     (in PDF ) Extended Absract (in HTML)   (in PDF   )
Presentation slides in PDF (in this Web site) Presentation slides in PDF (in this Web site)
Nakagawa's Introduction (Excerpt of "Personal Report") --

This is an intensive and bird-view presentation on the future directions of Japanese industry, especially software industry, with a keen sense of crisis. The Author proposes a basic framework of monozukuri and has strived to integrated the TRIZ/USIT thinking into the whole process of business and technology innovation. He recently made "Workbook to Innovate Business and Technology". Onto the workbook, users write down their specific thoughts/ideas step by step under the guidance of the Workbook.


[1] Abstract

Japan-oriented Creative Monozukuri (manufacturing and production) with TRIZ

Takuo Maeda (Takumi System Architects, Ltd.)

The 6th Japan TRIZ Symposium 2010
Held by Japan TRIZ Society on Sept. 9-11, 2010
at Kanagawa Institute of Technology, Atsugi, Kanagawa, Japan

Abstract

Industries, such as automobiles, digital electronic appliances, mother machines, have been producing the highest quality products in the world and having the symbolic status of the strong Japan through "monozukuri". Monozukuri itself just means to make something, that is, to manufacture and produce goods. Today "monozukuri" has a broader meaning including development, production, procurement, service and recycle of products in high qualities. Monozukuri has been created and improved by hardworking efforts for many years to get the global competitiveness. The efforts are very sophisticated based on the Japanese tradition to produce very fine products. In the modern industries including automobile manufacturing, these efforts are sometimes called "suriawase", have done through lots of engineers cross companies sitting together. This style of effort is intangible, especially by foreigners. However, it seems to have been the key of the strong monozukuri.

Now, growing needs of globally single market and ecological requirements are major drivers for new products. For example, electrical automobile is a typical emerging product to the near future. It requires less suriawase efforts because it is designed based on the modular architecture, integrates less number of parts which are procured openly and globally. Typical suriawase efforts will be less than now, resulting Japanese products might become weaker rapidly.

Additionally, products with embedded software have the critical problem. Because new products require more software to add new features with it, then embedded software will become large-scaled and very complicated. More software engineers are required because of less productivity of software development and additional efforts, then software supply falls into negative spiral, never coming up to the surface. Modern software development requires very structured approach with strategically reused software components based on modular architecture under the globally shared process on the network, which seems to be a virtually-configured logical software factory. Japanese software used to be delivered derivatively through generations from an original source code. It would become more difficult in case of delivering more large-scale software products.

These issues are very critical to Japanese monozukuri. They should be resolved urgently with the bird-eyed and monozukuri strategically reconstructed to produce very qualified products with embedded software through redesigned products and processes. Requirements for the future monozukuri need to be redefined in global perspectives, including product and software engineering process, shared and collaborative resources with globally and highly qualified people and network, and visible, easier and productive suriawase of technical and management process. Japanese intangible skills to have produced very qualified products will be built into the newly defined tangible processes to make products competitive. TRIZ tools, such as, evolution trends, contradiction matrix, and others, will be used for creating new products and accelerating processes creatively.

Table of Contents

1. Facing the crisis of Japanese monozukuri (manufacturing and production)

- Current suriawase changed to less effective efforts
- Ultra-large software demand is coming true, but not prepared how to make and manage it

2. Globally shared efforts and network to redesign products and processes

- Any additional efforts should be done with global people

3. Where are strengths in point of monozukuri

- Suriawase to produce strong products and processes should focus on where to be in points of core monozukuri efforts for the future

4. Ideas to vitalize people to make them more productive

- How to make people more creative and effective

5. Design schemes to make engineers more creative and productive

- Visualize collaborative processes
- Evolution trends with TRIZ increase creative activities and items
- Contradiction matrix accelerates creation processes
- Source information within requirements database

6. Reconstruct strong monozukuri

- Preparing for ultra-large software demands
- Cross domain-engineering

Extended Abstract, PDF   in English                  in Japanese 


[2]  Presentation Slides in PDF   

Presentation Slides in English in PDF   (32 slides, 1.5 MB)  

Presentation Slides in Japanese in PDF (32 slides, 1.7 MB)   


[3] Introduction by Nakagawa:

Excerpt from:

Personal Report of
The Sixth TRIZ Symposium in Japan, 2010
Part H.  Applications to Soft & Non-technical Areas
Toru Nakagawa (Osaka Gakuin University)
Mar. 30, 2011 (Posted on Apr. 14, 2011)

 

Takuo Maeda (Takumi System Architects, Ltd) [J04, O-3] gave an Oral Presentation with the title of "Japan-oriented Creative Monozukuri (manufacturing and production) with TRIZ". 

[*** This is an intensive and bird-view presentation on the future directions of Japanese industry, especially software industry, with a keen sense of crisis.  The Author is a software architect/engineer, having worked much in the field of application systems and embedded software, and became interested in TRIZ/USIT as a possible tool for solving critical difficulties in the software industry.  He refers to a number of references in Japanese and some in English. I am going to introduce his presentation to you in some detail.]

Before quoting Author's (rather long) Abstract, I will show you his Agenda of presentation first, in the slide (right).  Section 1 (Motivation/Question) and Section 3 (Utilizing TRIZ) are most important for us to understand his points.

With this Agenda in mind, let's read the paragraphs (1) and (2) of the Author's Abstract having 4 paragraphs.

     

Abstract (1):  Industries, such as automobiles, digital electronic appliances, mother machines, have been producing the highest quality products in the world and having the symbolic status of the strong Japan through "monozukuri". Monozukuri itself just means to make something, that is, to manufacture and produce goods. Today "monozukuri" has a broader meaning including development, production, procurement, service and recycle of products in high qualities. Monozukuri has been created and improved by hardworking efforts for many years to get the global competitiveness. The efforts are very sophisticated based on the Japanese tradition to produce very fine products. In the modern industries including automobile manufacturing, these efforts are sometimes called "suriawase", have done through lots of engineers cross companies sitting together. This style of effort is intangible, especially by foreigners. However, it seems to have been the key of the strong monozukuri.

Abstract (2): Now, growing needs of globally single market and ecological requirements are major drivers for new products. For example, electrical automobile is a typical emerging product to the near future. It requires less suriawase efforts because it is designed based on the modular architecture, integrates less number of parts which are procured openly and globally. Typical suriawase efforts will be less than now, resulting Japanese products might become weaker rapidly.

The basic reference the Author cites is the book written by Prof. Kenichiro Senoh (2009), shown in slide (below-left); its title means "Japanese manufactures have advantages with technologies, but are losing businesses".  This book is popular in Japanese business; Toshimitsu Kataoka also referred this in his lecture of the present Symposium.  The book pointed out the existence of structural problem in the business management of Japanese industries.  The second references Prof. Takahiro Fujimoto's book (2004),see slide (below-right).  The book discusses on basic types of monozukuri architecture.  Japanese industries had the strength in the style of closed and integral (or Suriawase) architecture, but the industries in the world are shifting their weights toward the Modular architecture and the open procurement. 

  

Then the Author goes on to discuss about the crisis of Japanese monozukuri especially in the software field.  Let's read the paragraph (3) of Author's Abstract.

Abstract (3): Additionally, products with embedded software have the critical problem. Because new products require more software to add new features with it, then embedded software will become large-scaled and very complicated. More software engineers are required because of less productivity of software development and additional efforts, then software supply falls into negative spiral, never coming up to the surface. Modern software development requires very structured approach with strategically reused software components based on modular architecture under the globally shared process on the network, which seems to be a virtually-configured logical software factory. Japanese software used to be delivered derivatively through generations from an original source code. It would become more difficult in case of delivering more large-scale software products.

The situation of software business crisis (especially in Japan) is demonstrated in the slide (right).  Demands for software is increasing much, and the software are demanded to be ever larger and more complicated.  This is a natural trend requested by monozukuri in global as well as in Japan.  On the other hand, when the engineer's technology is not improved drastically, the productivity of engineer gets reduced counter proportionally with the size and complexity of the software.  Such a big gap between software demand and supply is going to fail the software business in Japan, the Author points out.

     

As an example, the Author shows the case of mobile phone business (slide (below-left)).  In Japan, a number of companies are competing for making intelligent mobile phones in the market of 34 millions of domestic shipment.  Whereas, the global shipment in the same year (2009) is 1100 Millions and the total share of all the Japanese manufacturers is only 3%.  Software has a nature that it requests essentially no cost in reproduction.  Thus a company having 10-times larger share can sell its software-intensive products much cheaper because the software development cost for each user may count only 1/10.  This causes a severe situation on Japanese manufacturers.  Another problem is the methods and tools to develop such software (see slide (below-right)).  The approach shown in the left part is typical in Japanese companies. But the methods and tools for developing software have been evolved much in the world.  By learning software development and business theoretically and systematically, software has been built well, in some global leader companies, even for larger and more complicated requirements, the Author says. 

 

On the basis of realizing these crises in Japanese monozukuri, the Author now wants to discuss on the directions we should proceed.  Let's read the paragraph (4) of his Abstract:

Abstract (4): These issues are very critical to Japanese monozukuri. They should be resolved urgently with the bird-eyed and monozukuri strategically reconstructed to produce very qualified products with embedded software through redesigned products and processes. Requirements for the future monozukuri need to be redefined in global perspectives, including product and software engineering process, shared and collaborative resources with globally and highly qualified people and network, and visible, easier and productive suriawase of technical and management process. Japanese intangible skills to have produced very qualified products will be built into the newly defined tangible processes to make products competitive. TRIZ tools, such as, evolution trends, contradiction matrix, and others, will be used for creating new products and accelerating processes creatively.

Now the Author discusses how to use TRIZ for making monozukuri stronger.  The Author shows his basic understanding of TRIZ in the slide (right).  The graphs show 2 dimensional parameter space of possible solutions.  Usual relationship between the two parameters is shown by a blue line; essentially proportional in some cases, while essentially inversely proportional in other cases.  Ordinary solution is to try to find an optimal point on the blue line.  Whereas, TRIZ suggests us the regions of Ideal relationship as show by blue ovals in the graphs.  TRIZ also has a number of methods which can guide us to find such solutions.   

More specifically, the Author recommends us two TRIZ textbooks applicable to solve software (or IT) problems.  TRIZ concepts can be learned in Darrell Mann's textbook.  It has customized TRIZ concepts, e.g. contradiction matrix and its parameters, for software development.  The Author also recommends Umakant Mishra's textbook for learning the usage of TRIZ 40 Principles with more-than- 1200 cases of examples. 

[*** Japanese translation of Mishra's book is almost done by Toru Nakagawa, Takuo Maeda, et al., while that of Mann's book is only at the starting position by Takuo Maeda et al.]

Even though the Author knows the advantage of applying TRIZ to technical problems for obtaining much improved solutions, he poses a big question as shown in the slide (below-left).  This question reflects the discussion posed by Prof. Kenichiro Senoh, i.e., "Japanese manufactures have advantages with technologies, but are losing businesses".  Thus the Author wants to go further to find the route for Japanese (software-intensive) industries to win in the business as well. 

So, in the slide (below), he reconsider the factors for stronger monozukuri.  This slide shows the Author's scope nicely.  With the four groups of factors, the Author wants to build a new, re-constructed model for stronger monozukuri.

In the slide (right) the Author shows the basic framework of monozukuri.  This framework seems to be an extension of the framework of building software/IT system.  Inner-most of the three layer framework is either software or hardware monozukuri.  Requests from customers (and market and nature) drive the SW/HW requirements, and the latter is converted into requirement specifications, and designs, and then products or parts.  The realized products/parts are evaluated by customers.  There are two more levels of hierarchy.  The system containing the SW and HW inside is similarly requested, developed, realized, and evaluated.  The business is the outer-most layer of this framework, and is operated essentially in the same way of cycle.

The slide (right) shows the technical processes, which are positioned as an aspect of realization of SW, HW, or system.  At the top the stages of lifecycle are shown in a linear sequence. Processing concurrently, and processing multiple product lines simultaneously are the examples of process innovation.  Such process innovation can be suggested with TRIZ.

The Author further mentions the possibility of applying TRIZ to business innovation, i.e., for innovating management including processes, organizations, people as well as products/services.

The general trend in software engineering has been modularization.  On the basis of such trend, however, 'Suriawase' (i.e., integration) approach should be necessary, the Author says with reference to a report shown in the slide (right).  The report was prepared by a research project of 'Project Management Association of Japan, NPO', in which the Author worked as one of the project members.  It discusses on the development of embedded software which has come necessary for nearly all types of advanced industrial products and services. 

The two slides (below) describe the views of 'Suriawase-oriented approach' of software development.  It is important to distinguish positive suriawase from negative ones.  Objectives driven suriawase and specific-issue focused suriawase are positive, while problem-focused suriawase is negative, the report says.  In this sense, suriawase should be done actively and positively in the technical and management processes, the Author says.  You may also note 'Senoh's Innovation Principles' are quoted in these slides.  Senoh wrote 7 Innovation Principles in his book (2009).

 

The slide (right) shows the relationship of S-curves of two products (or engineering, mechanism, systems, models, etc.).  This relationship is quite familiar among TRIZ community, but the Author's comments on the innovation, especially the quotes of Senoh's Innovation Principles, are appropriate as the summary here. 

 

Now the Author describes his own approach for contributing to possible future innovations.  He wants to build a new, innovative model for achieving innovations in the software-intensive monozukuri.

In the slide (right), the Author reflects himself "What and How I should contribute?".  He thought that concentration in core competence is important in his own portfolio.  Thus his conclusion is "Make TRIZ more practical" (especially for software-intensive technology/businesses) and "Share and utilize practical information on TRIZ".

The following two slides (below) describes the Author's recent work.  The Author, who previously wrote several books for SE's (System Engineers) mostly on project management, has been preparing two 'Workbooks'.  The first one is "Practical Workbook to Create Ideas for New Software and IT Products Guided by USIT" (or 'USIT Workbook', see Japan TRIZ Symposium 2009 ). The second one is "Workbook to Innovate Business and Technology (WIBT)".  It is a workbook for a user to write about his/her own thoughts along the line of guidance, whose list of contents is shown in the slide (below-left).  The guideline refers to various documents and knowledge bases as shown in the slide (below-left). 

[*** We can learn a lot from this presentation.  I wish to post the whole presentation slides both in Japanese and in English in this Web site "TRIZ Home Page in Japan" in near future. ] 

 

 

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Last updated on Sept. 25, 2011.     Access point:  Editor: nakagawa@ogu.ac.jp