FPF.Preface:16.5.1 - Start outside the proposed boundary

State the use for which the whole is needed and the result that would make a difference there. Identify the relevant recipient and affected parties. Ask what must remain true when the result is used. This helps determine what belongs to the proposed whole and which outside contributions it requires. A missing contribution may require a new provision or a changed boundary.

The outside question need not identify a containing system. A pump belongs to an installation; a claim about that pump concerns it; a decision uses the claim. These are different relations. First looking outside is an order of justification, not a rule that every project starts its work in that order. When an available invention initiates the inquiry, look for a useful occasion, then test the invention against the conditions of that occasion.

Choose what must be obtained now. A usable assessment, a proposed service arrangement and an operating service have different completion conditions. A proposed arrangement can be the complete answer to a design question while leaving the original service need unmet. Keep that larger need visible when returning the smaller result.