Herramienta Solución De Problemas 5W

5W's and an H " of TRIZ Innovation
Prakash R. Apte
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India
apte@tifr.res.in
Harish Shah
Neilsoft Ltd., Pune, India
Harish.shah@neilsoft.com
Darrell Mann
University of Bath, Bath, UK
D.L.Mann@bath.ac.uk
 
Abstract
It is a commonly held view that ‘90% of the problem is defining what the problem is’. In actual fact, every time the statementor a derivative of it appears, the importance of problem definition seems to tend ever higher as a proportion of the total problem. The " 5W's and an H " and related techniques to be discussed in this article are aimed at helping problem (or indeed, looking at the opposite side of the coin, ‘opportunity’) owners to help in the definition process. Used in conjunction with TRIZ, the techniques areshown to be effective in helping to find the contradictions and harmful effects crucial to successful application of the TRIZ solving tools. This paper describes the basic TRIZ philosophy underlying various TRIZ tools and techniques, and the way they integrate most effectively with systematic problem definition tools.
 
Problem Definition using TRIZ tools:
TRIZ consists of many problem solvingtools and several different ways of classifying them. The first and the main task in inventive problem solving by TRIZ, however, still remains to be the toughest one - to identify and formulate the problem. The purpose of this article is to concentrate on this aspect and to show how our awareness of the TRIZ solving tools should influence our search strategies during the definition stage. In thevery broadest terms, TRIZ can be divided into four main stages as shown in Figure 1.
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Figure 1: 4 Stage TRIZ Process
We will be concentrating here on the ‘definition stage’, but using the ‘select’ and ‘solve’ stages to help us in our quest for the ‘right’ problem. By ‘select’, we mean the rules and guidelines which influence which of the TRIZ solve tools is most relevant to a given problemsituation. The principal problem definition methodology adopted in this article is based on a very simple premise - ask relevant questions until we get the answer. Like W.E. Deming has once said "Ask why 5 times", below is a compiled list of questions one ought to ask to get the ‘right’ answer. Questions we usually ask begin with 5 W's "Who?", "What?", Where?”, "When?" and "Why?". The last one,"Why?" is asked repeatedly till we get the answer! To complete the sequence of questions we need to add one more question starting with "How?" in an effort to find a possible answer or solution to the problem. We will therefore use the phrase "5W's and an H" first to identify the problem and then to provide a possible solution to it. Below we offer a compilation of "5W's and an H" as used for each ofthe TRIZ stages given above.
 
Why-What’s Stopping Analysis
First, however, as an aid to assist in our attempts to think about problem definition hierarchy, it is useful to introduce here a modified version of the ‘Why-What’s-Stopping?’ analysis tool first developed by Basadur (1). The tool provides users with a structure through which to visualise an initial problem statement in the context ofits broader and narrower context. The tool is aimed at overcoming the highly common situation which starts with statements like ‘the problem is…’ and continues a few seconds later with a headlong plunge into problem solving mode. This phenomenon is one of the most important manifestations of psychological inertia. Countless situations point to the fact that the initial problem definition turnsout to be anything but the ‘right’ one. So, the tool takes the initial ‘the problem is…’ statement and forces the user to think about the broader and narrower problem. A typical schema is reproduced in Figure 2. Basically, the user uses the ‘Why?’ question to broaden the problem and uses the question ‘What’s Stopping?’ to narrow the question. In keeping with the ‘ask why 5 times’ philosophy, the...