From Stuck to Solution: TRIZ the Easy (and Fun) Way

Creating models and thinking algorithms involves simplifying the reality in which the problem exists. This can lead to several challenges:

1. Loss of the Bigger Picture: Focusing on local details may lead to actions with unpredictable global effects over time and space.

2. Mental Fatigue: Overemphasis on efficiency can make the thinking process exhausting, making it hard to maintain focus and high-level concentration.

3. Illusion of Success: Systems governed by simple rules often appear successful but are inherently complex beneath the surface.

The systematic TRIZ procedures you are about to learn provide the ability to see both the "tree" and the "forest" simultaneously. Simple rules are replaced with templates that encapsulate complex principles, resulting in straightforward outcomes. Pre-defined templates and tick-box checklists reduce the cognitive load, allowing for focused and efficient problem-solving.

You need to be absolutely sure that the problem that you are going to solve is THE ONE that should be solved; otherwise you might start solving the wrong problem – curing the symptoms, but not the roots of the real problem.

Your perception of the problem may yet be very unclear; you may not even see any problem at all. The challenge you have may be expressed in different ways and according to this you may develop different approaches to your challenge while going through all the problem-solving stages. You need to be clear about whether any other existing methods to resolve this challenge are not suitable, and why.

Use Inventor's Manual together with this video. Create a clear definition of your challenge. Exercise: Reflecting on your favourite invention, consider what problem it solves and whether others—within or outside the industry—have addressed similar challenges. Explore if science or philosophy has tackled the issue. Then, think about how to elevate the invention: what knowledge to apply, what improvements to make, and whether it leads to a new product or market opportunity.

When we have to solve a problem we are usually interested in a single perfect solution – the one that is easy to implement. Even if we generate a lot of ideas, we still need to choose ONE. Generating numerous solutions is often not efficient and sometimes, in critical situations, it can even be dangerous. To narrow our search we need to formulate our Ideal Final Result AT THE VERY BEGINNING. The Ideal Final Result is the strongest solution, which radically solves a problem by eliminating it at the most profound level. It also often appears that such a solution is simple, elegant and even free of charge. The solutions you implement can approach or even achieve the ideal result.

Context is defined by the main function of a system and where it is executed. For example, a student’s primary roles at the university are learning and passing exams, while the role shifts when at the gym. Arriving at a university exam in gym attire with equipment would lead to issues and disruptions. Identifying the correct super-system—university or gym—is key to locating the problem: identify the system you're dealing with. Is it part of a larger system?

Define the operational zone: the closest environment to the problem area.

• Where in the system do harmful actions or properties become useful or neutral? If none, what is needed to make this happen?

• Define the operational time of the problem: describe the process and determine when useful and harmful actions intersect. Can this intersection be avoided?

Have you ever thought about why great inventions are so breath-taking? They impress us with their elegance and unexpected simplicity! The result is achieved so easily! This miracle is possible to create for yourself when you know how to develop the conditions for it and how to find the hidden resources to create such conditions. Use the book Inventor's Manual to apply to your challnge.

The key to overcoming challenges lies in transforming the obstacle itself, be it a harmful object or process, into a resource.

Identify all the properties of the harmful elements, factors, or actions.

Leverage these resources by altering the properties of an item or process that is generated by or affected by the harm.

Make a model of the problem as a contradiction between what you want and what holds you back. Do not be afraid of contradictions, search for them. If you can see the obstacles you use them for your benefit, if you do not see them, they will hold you back from your dream. Define what stops you from developing the right conditions for the Ideal Final Result. The sharper the conflict is expressed – the easier it will be to get to a solution.

List all conflicting goals, functions, actions, and parameters in the format: “I want, but...”

There are only two types of problems, which one is yours?

• Conflicting requirements to the same attribute of an object.

• Conflicting attributes of the same object.

Too many obstacles? Explore the system in greater depth by revisiting TRIZ Algorithn

This is the final stage of your journey to the Ideal Solution. There is a limited number of thinking patterns that lead to breakthrough ideas. Such patterns are called Inventive Principles. Use Inventive Principles to spark your creativity. There are also two additional methods for the solution finding: separation principles and inversion.

1. Apply separation principles to divide the conflicting requirements.

2. Use the Contradiction Matrix to find relevant solution templates.

3. Work with conflicting properties revealed in Stage 5:

• Describe conditions where the Ideal Result is impossible.

• Inverse these conditions.