To begin, let’s use the right words. Instead of just talking about “exceeding expectations” or “customer satisfaction,” try including these in your customer vernacular: Impress. Surprise. Delight. Enchant. Bewitch. And my favorite… dazzle.

It’s your first day at the Jedi Temple, working as a lightsaber manufacturer. Your first task on the job is to run a capability analysis on the length of lightsabers being produced.

High stresses combined with a corrosive environment can cause critical components inside power plants and other systems to crack and fail, sometimes with little warning.

Inexpensive labor has defined the last decade in manufacturing. The future may belong to technology.

Problems can arise throughout team development and management, but leaders must pay particular attention to the structure and focus of the team. There are many potential pitfalls associated with establishing a team’s mission and focus.

The current focus on improving production efficiency and part quality while meeting stringent production schedules is unrelenting. Measurement and inspection is one vital area that can benefit from advances in laser-scanning technology.

Centuries ago, people learned their skills by apprenticing with a master artisan. They started young, doing all the drudgery and repetitive work—sweeping floors, keeping the fires burning. But they didn’t care.

Every market has two sides, buyers and sellers. Markets are where the forces of supply and demand operate, and where buyers and sellers interact to trade goods and services, usually for money.

Last month I described what makes the XmR chart work.

Editor’s note: This article is the first in a series exploring the TRIZ methodolgy, a problem-solving, analysis, and forecasting tool derived from studying patterns of invention found in global patent data.