Using TRIZ for Maximizing Information Presentation in GUI

The modern software tools provide numerous graphic elements in their GUI, which demand more and more screen space. As the size of a display screen cannot be extended beyond a limit, it is typically seen as a constraint in a graphical user interface. Looking from a TRIZ perspective, the computer screen should display all the information that the user needs (Ideal Final Result). There are various methods of addressing the problem of screen space, some of which are, "using icons for windows", "the desktop metaphor", "the large virtual workspace metaphor", "multiple virtual workspaces", "overlapping windows" and "increasing dimensions" etc. There are many inventions on how to maximize the presentation of information on a graphical user interface. This article analyzes nine inventions from US Patent database from a TRIZ perspective illustrating how they solve the contradictions in order to achieve the desired result.