Flexible Shells and Thin Films

{
  "id": "TRIZ-30",
  "title": "Flexible Shells and Thin Films",
  "intent": "Protect core elements while keeping the system lightweight and adaptable by adding flexible, minimal protective layers.",
  "triz_principle": {
    "number": 30,
    "name": "Flexible Shells and Thin Films",
    "definition": "Use flexible shells, thin films, or lightweight layers instead of rigid, heavy structures."
  },
  "problem_understanding": {
    "core_contradiction": "We need protection and stability, but heavy protection makes the system rigid, slow, and expensive to change.",
    "why_this_hurts": "Thick defensive layers accumulate over time, increasing latency, complexity, and resistance to change.",
    "typical_signals": [
      "heavy governance and controls everywhere",
      "thick integration layers with duplicated logic",
      "defensive coding spread across the system",
      "high cost to introduce small changes"
    ]
  },
  "solution_logic": {
    "core_idea": "Protect the core with minimal, flexible layers instead of heavy permanent structures.",
    "key_rule": "Add protection only where impact is high; keep it thin and replaceable.",
    "how_it_resolves_the_contradiction": "The core stays safe while the surrounding layers can evolve, adapt, or be replaced easily."
  },
  "application_patterns": {
    "consulting": [
      "lightweight guardrails instead of detailed procedures",
      "principle-based governance instead of rule books",
      "minimal mandatory artifacts with optional extensions"
    ],
    "software_engineering": [
      "thin validation layers at system boundaries",
      "decorators or middleware instead of core changes",
      "lightweight wrappers around unstable dependencies"
    ],
    "architecture": [
      "API gateways as thin policy layers",
      "edge validation instead of deep internal checks",
      "sidecars for cross-cutting concerns"
    ],
    "enterprise_sap": [
      "lightweight pre-checks before MDG workflows",
      "thin enhancement layers instead of core modifications",
      "external validation services instead of embedded ABAP logic"
    ]
  },
  "anti_patterns": [
    "stacking many thin layers until they become thick",
    "unclear ownership of protective layers",
    "using shells to hide fundamental design issues"
  ],
  "usage_guidance": {
    "use_when": [
      "core stability is critical",
      "change frequency is high at the edges",
      "heavy controls slow down delivery"
    ],
    "do_not_use_when": [
      "deep protection is legally or safety-mandated",
      "thin layers cannot enforce required guarantees"
    ]
  },
  "diagnostic_questions": [
    "What part truly needs strong protection?",
    "Which protections could be made lighter or external?",
    "Where do heavy layers add more cost than safety?"
  ],
  "example": {
    "before": "Core logic contains many defensive checks and integration-specific conditions.",
    "after": "A thin boundary layer validates and normalizes inputs before they reach the core."
  },
  "meta": {
    "schema": "dkharlanau.dataset.byte",
    "schema_version": "1.1",
    "dataset": "TRIZ-bytes",
    "source_project": "cv-ai",
    "source_path": "TRIZ-bytes/TRIZ-30.json",
    "generated_at_utc": "2026-02-03T14:33:32+00:00",
    "creator": {
      "name": "Dzmitryi Kharlanau",
      "role": "SAP Lead",
      "website": "https://dkharlanau.github.io",
      "linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/dkharlanau"
    },
    "attribution": {
      "attribution_required": true,
      "preferred_citation": "Dzmitryi Kharlanau (SAP Lead). Dataset bytes: https://dkharlanau.github.io"
    },
    "license": {
      "name": "",
      "spdx": "",
      "url": ""
    },
    "links": {
      "website": "https://dkharlanau.github.io",
      "linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/dkharlanau"
    },
    "contact": {
      "preferred": "linkedin",
      "linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/dkharlanau"
    },
    "canonical_url": "https://dkharlanau.github.io/datasets/TRIZ-bytes/TRIZ-30.json",
    "created_at_utc": "2026-02-03T14:33:32+00:00",
    "updated_at_utc": "2026-02-03T15:29:02+00:00",
    "provenance": {
      "source_type": "chat_export_extraction",
      "note": "Extracted and curated by Dzmitryi Kharlanau; enriched for attribution and crawler indexing."
    },
    "entity_type": "triz_byte",
    "entity_subtype": "",
    "summary": "Protect core elements while keeping the system lightweight and adaptable by adding flexible, minimal protective layers."
  }
}