Theory of Inventive Problem Solving

The original version of TRIZ was invented by the Soviet engineer and inventor Heinrich Altshuller , who worked in the patent office and analyzed 40 thousand patents in an attempt to find patterns in solving problems and the emergence of new ideas ^[1] . Work on TRIZ was started by Altshuller in 1946, the first publication was issued by him and Rafael Shapiro in 1956 ^[2] .

At this time, the development of TRIZ did not take place within the framework of science, the review of articles and the scientific method were not applied, the place of a full-fledged scientific discussion was occupied by active public activities to popularize TRIZ, publishing books and conducting training seminars ^[3] . So, Altshuller himself conducted classes on TRIZ in 1948-1998, and until the 1970s TRIZ training took place mainly at experimental seminars ^[4] .

In the Soviet period, the discussion around TRIZ did not go beyond the closed group of its creators, potential changes in TRIZ were personally approved by Altshuller. Despite this, TRIZ was used in practice - in the USSR ^[3] .

In the 1990s, TRIZ became known outside the former USSR, including some of which were launched by some international companies, the most famous of which is Samsung ^[5] . This company actively uses it when creating innovations ^{[6] [7] [8]} .

Scientific articles began to appear on TRIZ in the 2000s, but it continues to remain little known in academic circles ^{[3] [5]} . For example, in technological universities, which rank 30 first in the rating, out of 294 courses on and new product development , only two mention TRIZ in their curriculum ^[3] .

On the one hand, TRIZ is called one of the most developed and effective sets of methods that help at the initial stage of engineering activity; at the same time, there is a very limited use of TRIZ by industrial companies ^[3] , as well as a weak connection between TRIZ and science.

Inventive Situation and Inventive Problem

According to Altshuller, the first step towards invention is to reformulate the situation in such a way that the wording itself cuts off unpromising and ineffective solutions. After that, one can reformulate the inventive situation into a standard mini-task: “according to RBI, everything should remain as it was, but either a harmful, unnecessary quality should disappear, or a new, useful quality should appear” . The main idea of ​​the mini-task is to avoid significant (and expensive) changes and consider first of all the simplest solutions.

The wording of the mini-task contributes to a more accurate description of the task:

• What are the parts of the system, how do they interact?
• Which connections are harmful, interfering, which are neutral, and which are useful?
• What parts and connections can be changed, and which ones cannot?
• What changes lead to an improvement in the system, and which ones to a deterioration?

Contradictions

After the mini-task is formulated and the system analyzed, according to Altshuller's theory, it should be found that attempts to change in order to improve some parameters of the system lead to a deterioration of other parameters. For example, an increase in the strength of an airplane wing can lead to an increase in its weight, and vice versa - lightening the wing leads to a decrease in its strength. In the system there is a conflict, a contradiction .

TRIZ identifies 3 types of contradictions (in order of increasing complexity of resolution):

• administrative contradiction : "it is necessary to improve the system, but I do not know how (I do not know how, I do not have the right) to do this . " This contradiction is the weakest and can be removed either by studying additional materials, or by making administrative decisions.
• technical contradiction : "the improvement of one parameter of the system leads to the deterioration of another parameter . " Technical contradiction - this is the formulation of the inventive task . The transition from an administrative contradiction to a technical one sharply reduces the dimension of the problem, narrows the field of search for solutions and allows us to move from the trial and error method to the algorithm for solving the inventive problem , which either suggests the use of one or more standard techniques, or (in the case of complex problems) points to one or several physical contradictions.
• physical contradiction : "to improve the system, some part of it must be in different physical states at the same time, which is impossible." Physical contradiction is the most fundamental, because the inventor rests on the restrictions due to the physical laws of nature. To solve the problem, the inventor should use a directory of physical effects and a table of their application.

Information Fund

It consists of:

• techniques for eliminating contradictions and tables for their application ;
• systems of standards for solving inventive problems (typical solutions of a certain class of problems);
• technological effects (physical, chemical, biological, mathematical, in particular, the most developed of them at present - geometric) and tables of their use;
• resources of nature and technology and methods of their use.

Reception System

TRIZ includes a list of 40 basic techniques. The work on compiling a list of such techniques was started by G.S. Altshuller at the early stages of the development of the theory of solving inventive problems. These techniques show only the direction and the area where there can be strong solutions. They do not issue a specific solution. This work is left to man.

The system of techniques used in TRIZ includes simple and paired (reception-antipri) .

Simple tricks allow you to resolve technical contradictions. Among the basic TRIZ techniques, the most popular are 40 basic (typical) techniques (together with sub-techniques - more than 100) ^[9] .

Paired receptions consist of admission and antiretraction, with their help it is possible to resolve physical contradictions, since in this case two opposite actions, states, properties are considered.

Standards for solving inventive problems

Standards for solving inventive problems are a set of techniques that use physical or other effects to eliminate contradictions or circumvent them ^[9] . This is a kind of formula for solving problems. To describe the structure of these techniques, Altshuller created a material-field (wild-field) analysis.

The system of standards consists of classes, subclasses and specific standards. It includes 76 standards. Using this system, it is proposed not only to solve, but also to identify new problems and predict the development of technical systems. The main classes of standards ^[9] :

1. System Change Standards
2. Detection and measurement standards
3. Standards for the application of standards

Technological effects

Technological effect is the transformation of some technological influences into others. May require the involvement of other effects - physical, chemical, etc.

Physical effects

According to Altshuller, there were about five thousand physical effects and phenomena. Different groups of physical effects can be applied in different fields of technology, but there are also commonly used ones. They are about 300-500 according to Altshuller.

Chemical Effects

According to Altshuller, chemical effects are a subclass of physical effects in which only the molecular structure of substances changes, and the set of fields is limited mainly by the fields of concentration, velocity and heat. By limiting ourselves to chemical effects, you can often speed up the search for an acceptable solution.

Biological effects

Biological effects are effects produced by biological objects (animals, plants, microbes, etc.). The use of biological effects in technology allows not only to expand the capabilities of technical systems, but also to obtain results without harming nature. Using biological effects, you can perform various operations: detection, conversion, generation, absorption of matter and fields, and other operations.

Math Effects

Among the mathematical effects, the most developed are geometric. Geometric effects are the use of geometric shapes for various technological transformations. The use of a triangle is widely known, for example, the use of a wedge or two triangles sliding on each other.

Resources

Real-field resources (VPR) are resources that can be used to solve problems or develop a system. According to Altshuller, the use of resources increases the ideality of the system.

Laws for the Development of Technical Systems

Main article: Laws for the Development of Technical Systems

Studying the changes ( evolution ) of technical systems over time, Altshuller identified the Laws of the development of technical systems , the knowledge of which helps engineers to predict the ways for further product improvements . First formulated by G. S. Altshuller in the book “Creativity as an exact science” (M .: “Soviet Radio”, 1979,), the laws were grouped into three conditional blocks:

• Statics - laws 1-3, determining the conditions for the emergence and formation of the TS ;
• Kinematics - laws 4-6, 9 determine the laws of development, regardless of the impact of physical factors. Important for the period of the onset of growth and prosperity of the development of TS;
• Dynamics — laws 7–8 determine the laws governing the development of vehicles from the effects of specific physical factors. Important for the final stage of development and transition to a new system.

The most important law considers the " ideality " (one of the basic concepts in TRIZ) of the system .

Real Field (Vepol) Analysis

Vepol (substance + field) is a model of interaction in a minimal system in which characteristic symbolism is used.

G.S. Altshuller developed methods for analyzing resources. Several of the principles discovered by him consider various substances and fields to resolve contradictions and increase the ideality of technical systems.

Another technique that is widely used by TRIZ supporters is to analyze substances, fields, and other resources that are not used and that are in or near the system.

Inventive Problem Solving Algorithm

The Algorithm for Solving Inventive Problems (ARIZ) is a step-by-step program (sequence of actions) for identifying and resolving contradictions, that is, solving inventive problems (about 85 steps). The algorithm allows us to discard many “empty” solution options ^[10] .

ARIZ includes:

• the program itself
• information support powered by the information fund
• methods for managing psychological factors that are part of the methods for developing creative imagination.

• Altshuller G. S. How to learn to invent . - Tambov: Tambov book publishing house. - 1961.
• Altshuller G. S. Creativity as an exact science . - M.: Soviet Radio, 1979.
• Altshuller G. S. Find an idea. - Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1986 (1st ed.), 1991 (2nd ed.).

• Ilevbare, IM, Probert, D., & Phaal, R. A review of TRIZ, and its benefits and challenges in practice // Technovation. - 2013. - No. 33 . - S. 30–37 . - DOI : 10.1016 / j.technovation.2012.11.003 .
• Chechurin, L., & Borgianni, Y. Understanding TRIZ through the review of top cited publications // Computers in Industry. - 2016. - No. 82 . - S. 119–134 . - DOI : 10.1016 / j.compind.2016.06.06.002 .
• Fiorineschi, L., Frillici, FS, & Rotini, F. Enhancing functional decomposition and morphology with TRIZ: Literature review // Computers in Industry. - 2018. - No. 94 . - S. 1–15 . - DOI : 10.1016 / j.compind.2017.09.09.004 .

• G.S. Altshuller Foundation
• The triz journal