TRIZ

TRIZ (/ˈtriːz/; Russian: теория решения изобретательских задач, romanized: teoriya resheniya izobretatelskikh zadach, lit. 'theory of inventive problem solving') is an approach that combines an organized and systematic method for problem solving with analysis and forecasting techniques derived from the study of patterns of invention in the global patent literature. The development and improvement of products and technologies in accordance with TRIZ are guided by the objective laws of technical systems evolution, forming the basis for TRIZ problem solving tools and methods. It was developed by Genrich Altshuller, a Soviet inventor, and science-fiction author, along with his colleagues, starting in 1946. In English the name is typically rendered as the theory of inventive problem solving, and occasionally goes by the English acronym TIPS.

Following Altshuller's insight, the theory developed on a foundation of extensive research covering hundreds of thousands of inventions across many different fields to produce an approach that defines generalizable patterns like inventive solutions and the distinguishing characteristics of the problems these inventions have overcome.

The research has produced three primary findings:

1. Problems and solutions are repeated across industries and sciences
2. Patterns of technical evolution are also replicated across industries and sciences
3. The innovations used scientific effects outside the field in which they were developed

TRIZ practitioners apply all these findings to create and improve products, services, and systems.