Ideal final result

Ideal final result (IFR) is a description of the best possible solution for the problem situation (or contradiction), regardless of the resources or constraints of the original problem. IFR is one of the basics terms in TRIZ, a problem solving methodology.
A well-defined IFR helps a problem solver to overcome psychological inertia and reach breakthrough solutions by thinking about the solution in terms of functions, not the intervening problems or needed resources. It focuses on functions needed, not the current process or equipment. It is therefore the antithesis to the more commonly used continuous improvement method which often leads to progressively diminishing returns (the classic s-curve). IFR represents a significant shift in the thinking approach to solving problems.
The idea of formulating the IFR is to clearly define the goal of improvement and to work back from that point, thus eliminating rework by solving the right problem initially.
A basic concept of TRIZ is that systems evolve towards increased ideality (functionality), where the extreme result of this evolution is the ideal final result with
* all the benefits,
* none of the harm, and
* none of the costs of the original problem.
The ideal system is acting as pure function, because it:
* occupies no space,
* has no weight,
* requires no labor,
* requires no maintenance,
* delivers benefit without harm.
Given the IFR criteria above, it is likely that the IFR will be unrealisable. However it provides the starting point in a recursive process of taking very small steps back away from the ideal (IFR) until a realisable solution, at least in concept, can be described.
The ideal final result also is a step in ARIZ.
Applications
The concept of IFR can be applied not only to engineering (as it was originally intended), but also to other systems and domains. As Genrich Altshuller, the founder of TRIZ, explained, when IFR is used as a methodology for finding the best solutions, it works like a flashlight thrown into darkness: we may not know what there is - in that darkness, but if the flashlight falls, stays there, and continues to give light, we at least know that there is some hard surface to step on or to move towards. In engineering, a typical IFR is the idea of "perpetual motion" machine. Inventors may not achieve the ideal result (French Academy of Science does not even take the patent applications for it), but striving for this high ideal allowed inventors to create numerous mechanisms with minimum friction, thus moving technology forward. In the field of education, the concept of IFR helped to create the models of Ideal Education, Ideal Learner, and Ideal Teacher, all of which paved the way to Creative Pedagogy.

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