Examining the structural attributes of TRIZ Contradiction Matrix Using Exploratory Data Analysis

Abstract

While the efficacy of TRIZ Contradiction Matrix (CM) is still being disputed, CM has been widely used due to its relative ease of use compared to other TRIZ methodologies. However, research on CM has been dominated by case studies of its use, the fundamental structure and components of CM have not been thoroughly explored. This study aims to enhance our understanding on CM by analyzing the relationships between its structural elements and constituents. To do so, Exploratory Data Analysis (EDA) was utilized to explore the correlations between the parameters of improving and worsening features and inventive principles within the intersection boxes. Frequency analysis conjectured a considerable similarity between the same attribute parameters that possessed opposing features. Association rules analysis (ARA) was conducted to identify the structural features of CM. On average, 56.67% of similarity was observed in the inventive principles located within the symmetrical intersection boxes along the matrix's main diagonal. Remarkably, 93.62% of the intersection boxes shared at least one common inventive principle. Propositional logic was adopted as a conceptual tool to interpret and understand the observed probabilities of inventive principles within CM's symmetrical intersection boxes. The findings showed that both improving and worsening parameters tend to converge in function enhancement due to the inventive principles in the intersection boxes. Given that parameters symmetric with the CM's main diagonal represented physical contradiction relations, this study suggests that the intersection box's inventive principles could potentially offer solutions to these physical contradictions. By examining the correlations between 39 Parameters of CM and 40 inventive principles within the intersection boxes, this study provides meaningful insights to understand the intricate mechanisms of CM.