This doctoral thesis proposes an approach to rationalise the design process in innovation, a major challenge for companies confronted with the need to innovate intensively. Faced with a context of global competition where innovation is no longer an option but a form of competition in its own right, Olivier Pialot develops the PST model (Problem-Solution-Technology) offering methodological takes on the innovative design process.
Submitted at the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble in September 2009, this 223-page research analyses in depth existing creativity methods including ASIT, compares their contributions and limitations, and proposes a structured approach allowing both object identity mobility and resource mastery in innovation projects.
The global economic context places companies in a new form of competition: intensive innovation. Offer densification and diversification, combined with growing product complexification and identity instability, pose a major challenge. Companies must innovate repeatedly and efficiently, while facing two contradictory imperatives: allowing object identity mobility during their genesis and mastering consumed resources.
To characterise and instrument a specific design project for innovation by defining concrete methodological takes. The research problem is stated thus: What are the methodological takes on a design project aiming for potential innovation?
Development of the PST model (Problem-Solution-Technology) which structures innovative design reasoning according to three dimensions. This approach offers both a generic starting point (new intention), specific result indicators (potential for new value proposition and technological feasibility), and a conscious and progressive exploratory process allowing innovation rationalisation.
The thesis rests on an in-depth analysis of the intensive innovation context, an exhaustive state of the art on design process models and creativity methods, and theoretical reflection on design reasoning itself. This multidisciplinary approach combines industrial engineering, design sciences and analysis of innovation practices.
The research progresses methodically: context characterisation and problem (chapter 1), proposal of multi-entry PST model and definition of starting point (chapter 2), characterisation of exploratory reasoning via multi-question PST model (chapter 3), and finally approach to develop potential innovation (chapter 4).
Thesis defended before a jury composed of Dominique Millet (Rapporteur), Patrick Truchot (Rapporteur), Dominique Vinck (Examiner) and Chris McMahon (Examiner). Thesis director: Jean François Boujut (G-SCOP), Co-director: Jérémy Legardeur (ESTIA). Host structure: Laboratory G-SCOP Sciences for design, optimisation and production.
Chapter 1.2.1 dedicates several pages to analysing creativity methods for innovation. After studying group creativity methods (brainstorming and derivatives), the thesis examines in detail the TRIZ method then ASIT, allowing rigorous comparison of their respective contributions and limitations.
ASIT is presented as an applied and affordable extraction of TRIZ, created by Roni Horowitz. The thesis explains that by analysing the most elegant solutions, Horowitz noticed that the "solution world" does not introduce new object types compared to the "problem world" - creative solutions are very close in their genealogy to conventional solutions.
The ASIT method rests on two conditions constituting its base:
The thesis documents the five operational tools deriving from these two conditions:
The thesis puts into perspective ASIT's advantages compared to TRIZ through several critical dimensions:
Accessibility: ASIT is significantly more accessible than TRIZ. Where TRIZ requires deep mastery of many complex tools and expert accompaniment, ASIT proposes a more direct and more rapidly operational approach for engineers.
Learning and use time: The thesis cites the example of Valeo Engine Cooling which tested TRIZ and the TechOptimizer software for over 600 hours. This experience revealed the operational complexity and significant time cost of TRIZ. Faced with these "too heavy tools", ASIT appears as a pragmatic alternative requiring less training and implementation time.
Maintained effectiveness: Despite its simplification, ASIT maintains TRIZ's effectiveness for solving well-identified technical problems. Solutions generated via ASIT's five tools demonstrate the same level of creativity and relevance as those from TRIZ, but obtained more rapidly.
The thesis also identifies limits common to ASIT and TRIZ: these methods are particularly adapted to solving relatively well-defined problems with technical character. They seem more difficult to envisage in the case of poorly defined design problems or when the object's very identity is in question.
It should be noted that, since then, scientific works like those of Takahara and SolidCreativity's field experience have largely proven that ASIT applies and remains effective beyond technology: innovative business models, new services, process optimisation, organisational redesign... The ASIT approach largely surpasses the initial technical framework.
ASIT's structuring principles inspired the development of the PST approach. The notion of ASIT's Closed World is found in PST's will to structure exploration without uncontrolled divergence. ASIT's systematic approach, which consciously explores possibilities via its five tools, influences the logic of the multi-question PST model which also aims to rationalise and progress consciously in exploratory design reasoning.
This thesis brings additional academic validation to ASIT by positioning it in the landscape of creativity methods for innovation. The rigorous comparative analysis demonstrates that ASIT constitutes a middle ground between group creativity methods (too little structured) and TRIZ (too complex), thus offering a pragmatic path for companies.
The thesis clarifies ASIT's positioning: effective creativity method for well-identified technical problems, accessible and operational, derived from TRIZ but considerably simplified. This clarification helps companies better understand when and how to mobilise ASIT in their innovation processes.
The thesis's principal contribution is the development of the PST approach which offers several concrete methodological takes:
The thesis responds to the challenge of rationalising the innovation process, allowing companies to better manage it. Faced with low innovation project success rates despite growing attention to this subject, the PST approach offers a structured framework without excessively constraining the creativity necessary for innovation.
The thesis fits into a research continuity. Jérémy Legardeur, co-director of this thesis, will also be director of Benjamin Tyl's thesis (2011) which will adapt ASIT into ecoASIT for eco-innovation. This filiation illustrates the pertinence and fertility of research on structured creativity methods for innovation.
Beyond methodological contributions, the thesis contributes to theorising design in innovation. By drawing notably on C-K theory and proposing the PST model, it opens perspectives for better theoretical understanding of reasoning processes in innovative design, while maintaining a pragmatic orientation towards applicability in companies.
Author : Olivier Pialot
Title : The PST approach as a tool for rationalising the innovative design process
Type : Doctoral thesis
University : Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (INPG)
Doctoral school : Engineering-Materials Mechanics Energy Environment Processes Production
Speciality : Industrial Engineering
Laboratory : G-SCOP Sciences for design, optimisation and production
Thesis director : Jean François Boujut
Co-director : Jérémy Legardeur (ESTIA - IMS Bordeaux 1)
Defence date : 30 September 2009
Number of pages : 223 pages
Keywords : innovative design, PST, creativity, innovation, ASIT, TRIZ, rationalisation, industrial engineering
Canonical link (official source) : https://theses.hal.science/tel-00429656v1
We recommend consulting the document via the official HAL link to respect copyright and access the reference version.
APA Format :
Pialot, O. (2009). The PST approach as a tool for rationalising the innovative design process [Doctoral thesis, Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble]. https://theses.hal.science/tel-00429656v1
ISO 690 Format :
PIALOT, Olivier. The PST approach as a tool for rationalising the innovative design process. Doctoral thesis. Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, 2009.
This thesis demonstrates that ASIT offers a just balance between structure and creativity. Ready to apply it to your projects?