Let’s look in more detail how we use this table. As mentioned previously, we identify the parameter of the system, product, or process that we want to improve (on the “y” vertical axis) and then move horizontally (“x” axis) across the table to the parameter or feature that degrades or gets worse when we try to make this improvement. At the intersection of these two parameters is a list of 4–5 principles which are the most frequently used inventive principles to resolve that particular contradiction, based on the analysis of the patent literature.