This thesis presents research carried out into the use of creative tools at the early stages of eco-innovation. Eco-innovation is a practical approach aiming to develop new products and processes which significantly decrease our impact on the environment. Designers are trained to develop profitable products that increase production and consumption. Eco-innovation is a new discipline in which designers can radically reduce the environmental burdens of production and consumption through the innovation of new types of products and services. The main aim of this research was to develop an approach that would promote significant environmental improvements whilst remaining a practical, design-focused discipline. Problems and under-investigated aspects of eco-innovation were identified: • Creative approaches at early stages of eco-innovation were under-investigated and few tools had been developed for use at the early stages. • Empirical design research techniques had rarely been used to assess new eco-innovation tools or to inform their subsequent development. The focus of the research work was the development and testing of tools to facilitate workshops at the early stages of eco-innovation. Not only was the goal to facilitate the generation of radical ideas but also to ensure that these were developed into appropriate solutions having the potential to be taken up in industry. The development of the tools was based on literature research, worked examples and interviews. The tools were tested in controlled workshop experiments and the results were analysed using various empirical techniques. First, an idea-recording technique to improve the efficiency of generating and harvesting ideas in a team design process was developed. This novel tool was called the Product Ideas Tree (PIT) diagram. The tool was tested for its ability to facilitate design workshops. Secondly, a structured approach to innovation - the theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ) - was investigated. Worked examples using some of the tools from TRIZ were presented and a limited number of tools were selected and simplified for testing in team design workshops. The PIT diagram and TRIZ tools experiments established which attributes of the tools and approaches were most beneficial. The development and testing of these specific tools provided the following general contributions to eco-innovation: • A model for eco-innovation that describes the factors influencing the discipline and the attributes of good practice. • A recommended process to transform radical ideas into appropriate solutions to improve their potential to be taken up in industry. • General insights into the use of tools in early-stage workshops such as: tool selection, integration into existing processes, system-level problem solving and providing thematic information. • Suggested improvements for testing tools in controlled workshop experiments.

This thesis deals with methodology for creating innovative concepts and their solving. More precisely, TIPS methodology „Theory of inventive problem solving“. This thesis is divided into four parts. In the first part, this methodology and its five basic tools are introduced. The second part provides introduction of software Goldfire Inovator including the tools which could be useful for students working on their projects. Third part demonstrates TIPS methodology on the innovation of wind power plant supported by software Goldfire Inovator. The fourth part evaluates advantages and contributions of TIPS methodology for education and practice.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The search for innovative solution, aligned to the growing need for cleaner industrial operations, is a solving problem process. In addition, we emphasize that the dairy industry has significant importance to the regional, national and global economy, since Brazil is one of the worldwide largest milk producers, while Rio Grande do Sul is one of the largest national producers. Hence, this research aimed to use the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) as a support tool to solve problems related to Cleaner Production (CP), serving as an innovative tool towards sustainability and higher environmental efficiency. The research involved three different companies. The study was based on the TRIZ fundamental concepts and function analysis, in order to describe the critical processes in the surveyed industries, aiming to detail the features that influence the quality of the studied processes. The results showed that TRIZ can be an alternative to be considered for solving CP problems, especially in situations where exists a scarcity of available data by companies. Also, we highlighted the need of CP feasibility analysis, since TRIZ method does not include this step. Therefore, the proposed inventive solutions are attractive technically, environmentally and economically, meeting the needs of each company studied. Thus, we can conclude that the integration of TRIZ to CP is effective in generating opportunities for inventive and sustainable solutions. / A busca por soluções inovadoras, junto à crescente necessidade de operações industriais mais limpas, é um processo de resolução de problemas. Além disso, ressalta-se que o setor de laticínios é de significativa relevância à economia regional, nacional e mundial, uma vez que o Brasil é um dos maiores produtores mundiais de leite, ao passo que o Rio Grande do Sul é um dos três maiores produtores nacionais. Dessa forma, esta dissertação teve como objetivo utilizar a Teoria da Solução Inventiva de Problemas (TRIZ) como ferramenta de suporte na resolução de problemas relativos à produção mais limpa (PML) na indústria de laticínios, servindo como ferramenta inovadora na busca de sustentabilidade e maior eficiência ambiental. A pesquisa englobou três empresas de portes e características diferentes. O trabalho teve como base os conceitos fundamentais e a ferramenta de análise funcional da TRIZ, isso com o objetivo de descrever os processos críticos nas indústrias pesquisadas, visando o detalhamento dos recursos que influenciam na qualidade dos processos estudados. Os resultados encontrados mostraram que a TRIZ pode ser uma alternativa a ser considerada para a resolução de problemas relacionados à PML, principalmente em situações onde há a precariedade de dados disponíveis por parte das empresas. Salienta-se também a necessidade da análise de viabilidade da PML, uma vez que a TRIZ, dentro de sua metodologia, não engloba essa etapa. Sendo assim, as propostas de soluções inventivas elaboradas são atrativas em âmbito técnico, ambiental e econômico, atendendo, assim, as necessidades de cada empresa estudada. Dessa maneira, pode-se concluir que a integração da TRIZ à PML é efetiva na geração de oportunidades de soluções inventivas e sustentáveis.

L'expérience joue un rôle crucial dans la résolution de problèmes. Dans les activités inventives de résolution de problèmes, l’expérience est composée de deux parties : l’une est le savoir-faire spécifique acquis dans la pratique de la résolution de problèmes passés, l’autre est la connaissance supplémentaire provenant d’autres domaines dans lesquels la résolution de problèmes a déjà été acquise et est utilisée pour résoudre. Cette thèse propose une nouvelle façon de résoudre des problèmes d’invention en capitalisant l’expérience tirée d’activités de résolution de problèmes antérieures. La première contribution est basée sur l'utilisation du raisonnement à partir de cas pour collecter et accéder rapidement aux expériences. La deuxième contribution consiste à proposer une nouvelle façon de classer les effets physiques basé sur l'utilisation de Wikipédia. Pour mettre en œuvre l'approche proposée dans la thèse, une application Web appelée CBRID (Raisonnement à partir de cas pour la Conception Inventive) est développée. Par ailleurs, nous avons mené une série d’expériences pour évaluer notre approche en termes d’efficacité et d’efficience. / Experience plays a crucial role in the resolution of problems. When in inventive problem solving activities, experience is composed of two parts: one is the specific know-how knowledge acquired in the practice of solving previous problems, the other is the additional knowledge from other domains where the problem solver is previously acquired and is used for problem solving. This thesis aims at proposing a new way to solve new inventive problems by capitalizing experience obtained from past problem solving activities. The first contribution is based on the use of the case-based reasoning for collecting and rapidly accessing the experiences. The second contribution consists in proposing a new way to classify the physical effects using Wikipedia. To implement the proposed approach, a web-based application called CBRID (Case-based reasoning for Inventive Design) is developed. A particular case of ''cloth hanger'' is studied to illustrate the problem solving process based on the proposed approach. In addition to that, we conducted a set of experiments to evaluate our approach in terms of effectiveness and efficiency.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Balancing sustainable development with high productivity is a major current challenges, especially regarding the search for alternatives and technologies focused on devising processes and products that do not generate or reduce damage to the environment. In this sense, the use of tools such as Cleaner Production (CP) can contribute to increased efficiency in the use of raw materials, water and energy by not-generation, minimization or recycling of waste and by products from the production process. Thus, the objective is to analyze CP parameters used by companies in the metal-mechanic sector of the central region of Rio Grande do Sul state, participants Productive Extension Center and Innovation (NEPI), aiming to propose future scenarios resulting from the Theory of inventing problem solving (TRIZ). From this perspective, it was found that the surveyed companies adopt CP practices although no regulation. However, there are many potential to be developed by local entrepreneurs regarding environmental issues, which also depends on public politics, society and market. / Conciliar desenvolvimento sustentável com alta produtividade é um dos grandes desafios atuais, principalmente no que tange a busca por alternativas e tecnologias focadas em idealizar processos e produtos que não gerem ou reduzam passivos ambientais. Nesse sentido, o uso de ferramentas como a Produção mais limpa (PML) pode contribuir para o aumento da eficiência no uso de matérias-primas, água e energia através da não-geração, minimização ou reciclagem de resíduos do processo produtivo. Com isso, objetivou-se analisar parâmetros de PML utilizados por empresas do setor metalmecânico da região central do estado do Rio Grande do Sul, participantes do Núcleo de Extensão Produtiva e Inovação (NEPI), visando a proposição de cenários prospectivos resultantes da Teoria inventiva de solução de problemas (TRIZ). Nessa perspectiva, verificou-se que as empresas pesquisadas adotam práticas de PML, apesar de não haver sua regulamentação. Contudo, há muitas potencialidades a serem desenvolvidas pelos empresários locais no que tange as questões ambientais, o que depende também das políticas públicas, sociedade e mercado.

Un nombre croissant d’industries ressentent le besoin de formaliser leurs processus d’innovation. Dans ce contexte, les outils du domaine de la qualité et les approches d’aide à la créativité provenant du "brain storming" ont déjà montré leurs limites. Afin de répondre à ces besoins, la TRIZ (Acronyme russe pour Théorie de Résolution des Problèmes Inventifs), développée par l’ingénieur russe G. S. Altshuller au milieu du 20ème siècle, propose une méthode systématique de résolution de problèmes inventifs multidomaines. Selon TRIZ, la résolution de problèmes inventifs consiste en la construction du modèle et l’utilisation des sources de connaissance de la TRIZ. Plusieurs modèles et sources de connaissances permettent la résolution de problèmes inventifs de types différents, comme les quarante Principes Inventifs pour l’élimination des contradictions techniques. Toutes ces sources se situent à des niveaux d’abstractions relativement élevés et sont, donc, indépendantes d’un domaine particulier, qui nécessitent des connaissances approfondies des domaines d’ingénierie différents. Afin de faciliter le processus de résolution de problèmes inventifs, un "Système Intelligent de Gestion de Connaissances" est développé dans cette thèse. D’une part, en intégrant les ontologies des bases de connaissance de la TRIZ, le gestionnaire propose aux utilisateurs de sources de connaissance pertinentes pour le modèle qu’ils construisent, et d’autre part, le gestionnaire a la capacité de remplir "automatiquement" les modèles associés aux autres bases de connaissance. Ces travaux de recherche visent à faciliter et automatiser le processus de résolution de problèmes inventifs. Ils sont basés sur le calcul de similarité sémantique et font usage de différentes technologies provenantes de domaine de l’Ingénierie de Connaissances (modélisation et raisonnement basés sur les ontologies, notamment). Tout d’abord, des méthodes de calcul de similarité sémantique sont proposées pour rechercher et définir les liens manquants entre les bases de connaissance de la TRIZ. Ensuite, les sources de connaissance de la TRIZ sont formalisées comme des ontologies afin de pouvoir utiliser des mécanismes d’inférence heuristique pour la recherche de solutions spécifiques. Pour résoudre des problèmes inventifs, les utilisateurs de la TRIZ choisissent dans un premier temps une base de connaissance et obtiennent une solution abstraite. Ensuite, les éléments des autres bases de connaissance similaires aux éléments sélectionnés dans la première base sont proposés sur la base de la similarité sémantique préalablement calculée. A l’aide de ces éléments et des effets physiques heuristiques, d’autres solutions conceptuelles sont obtenues par inférence sur les ontologies. Enfin, un prototype logiciel est développé. Il est basé sur cette similarité sémantique et les ontologies interviennent en support du processus de génération automatique de solutions conceptuelles. / An increasing number of industries feel the need to formalize their innovation processes. In this context, quality domain tools show their limits as well as the creativity assistance approaches derived from brainstorming. TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) appears to be a pertinent answer to these needs. Developed in the middle of the 20th century by G. S. Althshuller, this methodology's goal was initially to improve and facilitate the resolution of technological problems. According to TRIZ, the resolution of inventive problems consists of the construction of models and the use of the corresponding knowledge sources. Different models and knowledge sources were established in order to solve different types of inventive problems, such as the forty inventive principles for eliminating the technical contradictions. These knowledge sources with different levels of abstraction are all built independent of the specific application field, and require extensive knowledge about different engineering domains. In order to facilitate the inventive problem solving process, the development of an "intelligent knowledge manager" is explored in this thesis. On the one hand, according to the TRIZ knowledge sources ontologies, the manager offers to the users the relevant knowledge sources associated to the model they are building. On the other hand, the manager has the ability to fill "automatically" the models of the other knowledge sources. These research works aim at facilitating and automating the process of solving inventive problems based on semantic similarity and ontology techniques. At first, the TRIZ knowledge sources are formalized based on ontologies, such that heuristic inference can be executed to search for specific solutions. Then, methods for calculating semantic similarity are explored to search and define the missing links among the TRIZ knowledge sources. In order to solve inventive problems, the TRIZ user firstly chooses a TRIZ knowledge source to work for an abstract solution. Then, the items of other knowledge sources, which are similar with the selected items of the first knowledge source, are obtained based on semantic similarity calculated in advance. With the help of these similar items and the heuristic physical effects, other specific solutions are returned through ontology inference. Finally, a software prototype is developed based on semantic similarity and ontology inference to support this automatic process of solving inventive problems.