TRIZ

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Problem-solving tools

title: "TRIZ" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["triz", "1946-introductions", "problem-solving", "creativity-techniques", "soviet-inventions"] description: "Problem-solving tools" topic_path: "general/triz" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIZ" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Problem-solving tools ::

TRIZ (; ) is a methodology which combines an organized, systematic method of problem-solving with analysis and forecasting techniques derived from the study of patterns of invention in global patent literature. The development and improvement of products and technologies in accordance with TRIZ are guided by the laws of technical systems evolution. In English, TRIZ is typically rendered as the theory of inventive problem solving.

The development of TRIZ, led by Soviet inventor and science-fiction author Genrich Altshuller and his colleagues, began in 1946. TRIZ developed from a foundation of research into hundreds of thousands of inventions in many fields to produce an approach which defines patterns in inventive solutions and the characteristics of the problems which these inventions have overcome. The research produced three findings:

  • Problems and solutions are repeated across industries and sciences.
  • Patterns of technical evolution are replicated in industries and sciences.
  • The innovations have scientific effects outside the field in which they were developed.

TRIZ applies these findings to create and improve products, services, and systems.

History

TRIZ was developed by the Soviet inventor and science-fiction writer Genrich Altshuller and his associates. Altshuller began developing TRIZ in 1946 while working in the inventions inspection department of the Caspian Sea flotilla of the Soviet Navy. His role involved evaluating invention proposals, refining and documenting them, and preparing patent applications. Through this work, Altshuller recognised that many technical problems require inventive solutions because improving one parameter often leads to the deterioration of another, a situation he termed a technical contradiction.

Altshuller's work on what later became TRIZ was interrupted in 1950 by his arrest and a 25-year sentence to the Vorkuta Gulag. The arrest was partially triggered by letters that he and Refael Shapiro sent to Stalin, government ministers, and newspapers, criticising Soviet policy decisions they considered erroneous. Altshuller and Shapiro were released during the Khrushchev Thaw following Stalin’s death in 1953, and subsequently returned to Baku.

The first academic paper on TRIZ, On the psychology of inventive creation, was published in 1956 in the journal Issues in Psychology.

By observing skilled inventors at work, Altshuller identified recurring patterns of creative thinking, which he used to develop a set of problem-solving tools and techniques. These included Smart Little People and Thinking in Time and Scale (also known as the Screens of Talented Thought).

In 1986, Altshuller shifted his focus from technical problem-solving to the development of individual creativity. He adapted TRIZ for use by children, and this version was tested in several schools. Following the end of the Cold War, emigrants from the former Soviet Union contributed to the international dissemination of TRIZ.

{{anchor|Basic principles|Basic terms|Inventive principles and the matrix of contradictions|Use of TRIZ on management problems}}Basic principles

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Prism_of_TRIZ_Oxford_Creativity.png" caption="TRIZ flowchart" alt="See caption"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7a/Contradictions_Matrix_image.jpg" caption="[[Contradiction matrix]]" alt="A chart with many squares"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/40_principles_of_TRIZ_method_720dpi.jpg" caption="[[40 principles of invention]], principles based on TRIZ" alt="40 small illustrations of TRIZ"] ::

One tool which evolved as an extension of TRIZ was a contradiction matrix. The ideal final result (IFR) is the ultimate solution of a problem when the desired result is achieved by itself.

Altshuller screened patents to discover which contradictions were resolved or eliminated by each invention and how this had been achieved. After identifying a distinction between incremental or "routine" inventions and those which represented true breakthrough inventions, he developed a set of 40 inventive principles and, later, a matrix of contradictions. Although TRIZ was developed from analyzing technical systems, it has been used to understand and solve management problems.

{{anchor|Use of TRIZ methods in industry|Modifications and derivatives}}Use in industry

Samsung has invested in embedding TRIZ throughout the company.

BAE Systems and GE also use TRIZ, Mars has documented how TRIZ led to a new patent for chocolate packaging. It has been used by Leafield Engineering, Smart Stabilizer Systems, and Buro Happold to solve problems and generate new patents.

The automakers Rolls-Royce, Ford, and Daimler-Chrysler, Johnson & Johnson, aeronautics companies Boeing, NASA, technology companies Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, General Electric, Xerox, IBM, LG, Intel, Procter & Gamble, Expedia, and Kodak have also used TRIZ methods in projects.

The industrial case study done at Intel scientifically validated the use and application of TRIZ in the semiconductor and high-tech industries, which was measured to provide significant productivity and profitability gain for the company, officially verified by Intel's Finance to exceed $212.5M in Return on Investment over the course of a 21-month deployment of the methodology across Intel's semiconductor manufacturing eco-system.

TOP-TRIZ is a version of developed and integrated TRIZ methods promoted by TRIZ Master Zinovy Royzen, it is his version of TRIZ; it is not accepted as the definitive modern method of TRIZ by the International TRIZ Association (MATRIZ) "TOP-TRIZ includes further development of problem formulation and problem modeling, development of Standard Solutions into Standard Techniques, further development of ARIZ and Technology Forecasting. TOP-TRIZ has integrated its methods into a universal and user-friendly system for innovation." In 1992, several TRIZ practitioners fleeing the collapsing Soviet Union relocated and formed Ideation International. They developed I-TRIZ, their version of TRIZ.

In Liberating Structures, the facilitation method, also called TRIZ, was "inspired by one small element of" the original TRIZ methodology but is used in a distinct context.{{cite web | title = Making Space with TRIZ | website = Liberating Structures | url = https://www.liberatingstructures.com/6-making-space-with-triz/ | access-date = 21 November 2024

Within Spanish-language educational literature, educator Saturnino de la Torre described Diálogo Analógico Creativo (Analogical Creative Dialogue, DAC) as a structured classroom procedure that sequences analogy generation, perspective shifting and guided evaluation to convert initial intuitions into applicable proposals in group settings. Although framed for higher education rather than engineering, this approach has been discussed alongside inventive problem-solving frameworks and classroom adaptations that orchestrate divergent and convergent phases in ways comparable to TRIZ-inspired practice.{{Cite journal |last=de la Torre |first=Saturnino |date=October 2006 |title=El diálogo analógico creativo: una estrategia de aprendizaje y evaluación integrador |journal=Qurriculum. Revista de Teoría, Investigación y Práctica Educativa |issue=19 |pages=59–75 |url=https://riull.ull.es/xmlui/handle/915/17340 |language=es}}{{Cite journal |last1=Sevillano García |first1=María Luisa |last2=de la Torre |first2=Saturnino |last3=Carreras Nadal |first3=Carlos |date=2015 |title=El cine, recurso formativo. 18 años de investigación del grupo GIAD |journal=Pixel-Bit. Revista de Medios y Educación |issue=46 |pages=87–101 |doi=10.12795/pixelbit.2015.i46.06 |url=https://recyt.fecyt.es/index.php/pixel/article/view/61612 |language=es}}{{Cite journal |last=Rajadell-Puiggròs |first=Núria |date=December 2019 |title=El Seminario de Cine Formativo de la Facultad de Educación de la Universidad de Barcelona |journal=EARI Educación Artística: Revista de Investigación |volume=10 |pages=303–312 |doi=10.7203/eari.10.13904 |url=https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/7181266.pdf |language=es}}

European TRIZ AssociationThe German-based nonprofit European TRIZ Association, founded in 2000, hosts conferences with publications.

References

References

  1. (31 December 2024). "Enhance Your Innovation Techniques Using TOP-TRIZ, Next Generation of TRIZ". Machine Design.
  2. Hua, Z.. (May 2018). "Integration TRIZ with problem-solving tools: a literature review from 1995 to 2006". International Journal of Business Innovation and Research.
  3. "Triz - What is Triz". Real Innovation Network.
  4. Sheng, I. L. S.. (2010). "Eco-Efficient Product Design Using theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ) Principles". [[American Journal of Applied Sciences]].
  5. (2015). "Fuzzy Cognitive Map-based selection of TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) trends for eco-innovation of ceramic industry products". Journal of Cleaner Production.
  6. "What is TRIZ?".
  7. "Генрих Саулович Альтшуллер (Genrich Saulovich Altshuller – short biography)". Altshuller Institute.
  8. Altshuller, G. S.. (1956). "О психологии изобретательского творчества (On the psychology of inventive creation)". Вопросы психологии.
  9. Altshuller, G. S.. (1984). "Creativity as an Exact Science: The Theory of the Solution of Inventive Problems". Gordon and Breach Science Publishers.
  10. "A Brief History of TRIZ".
  11. Webb, Alan. (August 2002). "TRIZ: an inventive approach to invention". Manufacturing Engineer.
  12. "Contradictions Matrix - TRIZ Tools Oxford Creativity".
  13. "Rezultat Idealny - TRIZ - Baza Wiedzy, Szkolenia, Warsztaty, Wdrożenia Feed".
  14. Hipple, J. (2003), [https://innovationmanagement.se/2003/10/20/what-is-triz-and-how-can-it-be-used-in-problem-solving-or-brainstorming/ What is TRIZ and How can it be used in Problem Solving or Brainstorming?], ''Innovation Management'', accessed on 8 November 2025
  15. (8 August 2014). "'The overall benefits are potentially enormous': Bucks County Council granted ABS license with emergency services group".
  16. Shaughnessy, Haydn. "What Makes Samsung Such An Innovative Company?".
  17. "Archived copy".
  18. "Mars Chocolate Packaging Case Study".
  19. "Manufacturing".
  20. (2011). "TRIZ for Engineers". Wileys.
  21. Wallace, Mark. (June 29, 2000). "The science of invention". [[Salon.com]].
  22. Jana, Reena. (May 31, 2006). "The World According to TRIZ". [[Bloomberg Businessweek]].
  23. Hamm, Steve. (December 25, 2008). "Tech Innovations for Tough Times". [[Bloomberg Businessweek]].
  24. Lewis, Peter. (September 19, 2005). "A Perpetual Crisis Machine". [[CNNMoney.com]].
  25. Platt, Richard. "Intel Results".
  26. Royzen, Zinovy (2014), "TOP-TRIZ, Method for Innovation, Applications, Implementation." ''5th International Conference on Systematic Innovation, San Jose, CA, July 16–18, 2014, Proceeding'', {{ISBN. 978-986-90782-1-4, pp. 253-282. https://www.i-sim.org/icsi/FullProceedings/ICSI2014-FullProceedings.pdf.
  27. "Who We Are".
  28. "ETRIA portal".
  29. (21 January 2001). "ETRIA – European TRIZ Association". triz-journal.com.
  30. "European TRIZ Association". [[WorldCat]].

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triz1946-introductionsproblem-solvingcreativity-techniquessoviet-inventions