Eureka on Demand
TRIZ : Theory of Inventive problem Solving
A brief introduction to Systematic method of solving inventive
problems.
By Hemant Pardikar hpardikar@gmail.com
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The Gold Medal winners
• Last 20 years saw Global rise of South Korean companies.
• Last 20 years , TRIZ is the Number 1 methodology of problem resolution
used by Them.*
• Samsung has 33000 employees trained in TRIZ.
• Samsung files 200 patents every week !! *
•What is that they are doing differently?
• * Dr Oleg Feygenson Principal Engineer Global Technology Centre Samsung Electronics , Suwon, South Korea 2

South Koreans are not alone!*
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TRIZ: Theory of Inventive problem solving
• What is this method of Innovation which is based on
study of millions of patents?
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TRIZ: Teoriya Resheniya Izobreatatelskikh Zadatch
• Genrich Altschuler a Russian Inventor and patent Inspector
developed TRIZ with his students over 30+ years.
• They studied 40000 patents to understand underlying inventive
principles.
• TRIZ was only known to the world at large after Altschuler and
others migrated to Boston, USA in 1990s (After disintegration of
USSR).
• 25 million patents have been examined till 2019 but the basic
structure of TRIZ remains unaltered .
• TRIZ is thus extract of inventive experience of millions of Inventors.
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What is an Inventive Problem?
• The Crux of every inventive problem is one or more ‘Contradictions’.
• In a technical system, trying to improve one function results in
deterioration of one or more other functions.
• The usual way is to find a compromise by ‘optimization’ methods.
• An inventive solution solves the contradiction without
compromise.
• Central focus of TRIZ is to find methods to resolve the
contradictions without compromise.

Why is TRIZ a big accelerator of Inventions?
• When problems are re-phrased in abstract terms, removing specific
words and images, diverse areas of science and technology have very
similar problems.
• These problems can be solved by just 40 ‘Inventive Principles’.
• These Inventive principles have not changed even after ongoing
analysis of millions of patents over decades.
• Thomas Edison used only 5 of these principles.
• TRIZ has elaborate methods of rephrasing problems and overcoming
psychological inertia before solving them.
• ‘TRIZ method’ involves 2 ‘translations’ from specific problem to
Abstract one and from Abstract solution to specific one.
• Scientific knowledge is used at the last stage

Other major TRIZ findings
• All Scientific and Technical Knowledge exists in “Silos”.
• Problem in one science or Technology is, most likely, already solved
elsewhere.
• Significant inventive effort is like ‘reinventing the wheel’.
• TRIZ helps in breaking these silos for free flow of ideas.
• Every kind of Technology evolves in definite trends making their
future, highly predictable.
• These evolve along “S” curves of birth growth maturity and decline.
• Breakthrough is always jump to new “S” curve.
• Within this path , there are 9 major trends of evolution and many sub
trends.

Why is Innovation difficult
• Innovation is successfully implemented invention.
• Only 6% patents get converted into commercially successful ideas.
•Why
• Research says that,75% of Companies do not have a systematic idea
generation and idea conversion process.
• Out of 3000 raw ideas only one succeed as a product in the market.
• Global experience of “Corporate R&D” is mediocre commercially.

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Demands on Industry today
• Due to globalized competition, industries need to have
--- Products with better features
---Better quality
---Lower cost
---Lower Risk/hazard
--- early time to Market
---Within regulatory and legal compliance
• TRIZ is a big enabler under the constraints.
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Areas where TRIZ can benefit businesses
• New Product Development.
• Product improvement.
• Process streamlining and removal of bottlenecks.
• Adjacent market development.
• Cost reduction .
• Patent protection and circumvention.
• Many more .

TRIZ and other Innovation methods.
• TRIZ has significant advantages over other innovation methods like ,
Six Sigma, Lean, SCAMMPER, Theory of Constraints , Value
Engineering etc.
• These methods are weak in idea generation process and mostly use
brainstorming.
• Central focus of TRIZ is Idea Generation by contradiction resolution.
• This allows TRIZ to come up breakthrough solutions not only in same
paradigm but transit to completely new paradigm.

TRIZ in India
• TRIZ is relatively new in India.
• Till 2021,there are only 45 people in India who are certified
‘Level3’TRIZ experts and NO ONE is a level 4 or Level 5.
• This is as per International TRIZ association website (WWW.martiz.org).
• Apart from South Korea, China has taken to TRIZ in a big way.
• In 2021 alone, out of about 4500 TRIZ certification by
(www.matriz.org), about 3500 are issued to Chinese.
• TRIZ is part of Engineering curriculum in Malaysia.

Thank you.
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