Motivation
TRIZ is a Theory of Inventive Problem Solving. I am personally interested in applications of TRIZ to software engineering. You do not have to be an expert on TRIZ to see a similarity between TRIZ principles and design patterns or software patterns.

History
TRIZ is based on the fundamental research. Genrich Altshuller worked in the patent office, just like Albert Einstein. This is where he concluded that there are generic rules that fuel innovation. Patent offices have quite a variety of material to work on. Altshuller found that many authors have repeatedly used similar solutions to create innovation. While original patterns were focused on engineering in general, TRIZ concepts are applied to many branches of science and business. TRIZ body of knowledge includes several interrelated concepts that I quikly cover further.

Laws of Technological System Evolution
Over time Genrich Altshuller has established the following laws of technological system evolutions.

• Law of Increasing ideality
• Law of Non-uniform evolution of sub-systems
• Law of Transition to a higher-level system
• Law of Increasing flexibility
• Law of Shortening of energy flow path
• Law of Transition from macro- to micro-level

It just recently appeared to me that TRIZ might be heavily based on Frederick Engels (1883) Dialectics of Nature. Engels showed that from the history of nature and human society following three laws of dialectics are abstracted:

• The law of the transformation of quantity into quality and vice versa;
• The law of the interpenetration of opposites;
• The law of the negation of the negation.

Ideal Technological Systems
The purpose of a system is to perform a function. An ideal system is an absent system performing the required function.

• Performs desired function, and at the same time
• Requires no material to be built
• Consumes no energy or space
• Costs nothing
• Needs no maintenance and
• Can’t be broken

Mini & Maxi Problems

• A mini-problem is solved when system remains unchanged or is simplified, but the shortcomings disappear or an improvement is archived
• A maxi-problem is solved when system is dramatically changed or an entirely new system is built

System Conflicts
A system conflict is a heart and soul of the problem. Look to understand the conflict before solving the problem. TRIZ has tools for elimination of system conflicts Conflict is present when:

• The useful action simultaneously causes harmful effect
• An improvement of one part of the system, causes a degradation of the other part and vise versa
• An invention is needed when system conflict can’t be eliminated and trade-offs are not acceptable

Physical Contradictions
In the root of every system conflict lays a physical contradiction. Physical contradiction is a situation when one and the same object ought to be in two mutually exclusive physical states at the same time. Three generic methods for overcoming physical contradictions are know in TRIZ:

• separation of opposite properties in time: at one time an object has property (+ P), and at another time it has an opposite property (– P)
• separation of opposite properties in space: one part of an object has property (+ P), while another part has an opposite property (– P)
• separation of opposite properties between system and its components: a system has property (+ P), while its components are given an opposite property (– P)

40 Inventive Principles
Overcoming system conflicts can be done with inventive principals. These principals represent a complete set of primitive operations that are available to an innovator.

Getting Help
Original leader of TRIZ movement - Genrich Altshuller - has passed away in 1998. Many people now and while he was still alive claim various interpretations of TRIZ. As any methodology, TRIZ is quite subjective. It requires from a practitioner to have fundamental education, practical experience, professionalism, and natural creativity.

If you need to choose a TRIZ practitioner carefully look at his record of innovation. I enjoyed meeting and brainstorming with great practitioners from TRIZ Group. This group has one of the best TRIZ publications in English and carries a great record of innovation. The TRIZ summary presented here is derived from their book entitled “The Science of Innovation”. It is a great book with many examples, written for general public in simple and clear language.