System Operator (9 Windows)
3×3 grid of time (past/present/future) and hierarchy (sub-/system/supersystem) that breaks tunnel vision.
Also known as: 9 windows, nine windows, multi-screen tool
The system operator — also "9 windows" or multi-screen tool — views a system on two axes at once: in time (past, present, future) and in hierarchy (subsystem, system, supersystem). This yields nine perspectives on the same subject.
The value sits in the neighbouring cells: how did the predecessor system solve the task? Which components will change? In which environment will the system operate in future? Answers from these fields lie outside what present-only thinking produces.
See also
Used in
Sources
- Altschuller, G. S. — Erfinden: Wege zur Lösung technischer Probleme, 2. Auflage, VEB Verlag Technik Berlin, 1986
- Koltze, K. & Souchkov, V. — Systematische Innovation: TRIZ-Anwendung in der Produkt- und Prozessentwicklung, 3. Auflage, Hanser, 2018
- Orloff, M. A. — Modern TRIZ: A Practical Course with EASyTRIZ Technology, Springer, 2012