5. Diagnose or predict the dynamics of morphological space

Standard morphological analysis is static. Nothing is said about the date of appearance or the genealogy of this or that solution or form, yet this dynamic aspect is essential when it comes to technological foresight or formulating an industrial strategy.

Aware of this, in the late 1980s, economists in Lyon proposed an original, but little-known, extension of the concept. It is based on two key ideas. The first is that, from the very first stage of morphological analysis, it is important to order morphological parameters, taking into account any incompatibilities that may exist between them. The second is that every identifiable shape should be associated with an indicator of technical maturity (novel, avant-garde, under development, patented, marketed, routine, etc.), and every existing solution with a date of appearance corresponding, for example, to the filing...