Ideal Final Result of ...sitting.

"If I'm a hammer, everything else looks like a nail..."

A basic concept in TRIZ is the Ideal Final Result (IFR). When it comes to problem definition, thinking about the IFR greatly focuses your ideation process towards the best solution to your problem. In the past I tend to fall into the trap of solving a problem by adding something (remove vibration by fitting a sensor), when the best solution is actually removing it altogether. 

So rather than explaining what is IFR, let's see how it can help to define a problem...the humble chair.

If I want to invent a better chair for sitting, I'd start by thinking what is my perfect chair. Following IFR, the perfect chair:

1. Occupies no space.

2. Has no weight.

3. Requires no labor.

4. Requires no maintenance.

5. Delivers benefit without harm.

Just by answering this 5 questions I have my perfect chair:

1. Allows me to sit without a chair.

2. I don't need to carry a chair around to sit on it.

3. I don't need to unpack or assemble a chair.

4. It doesn't break down.

5. I don't need to compromise my sitting posture.

Notice that the perfect chair is actually a chair that lets me do the act of sitting without me needing a chair! By thinking about the IFR, not only do I get a clearer picture on what constitute a better "chair" for me, I also get an indication on what I shouldn't be adding to the chair to make it "better".

This greatly avoids me from building this...

Source: Google Image

...when what I really wanted was this...

Source: Google Image