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19 TRIZ
Steven F. Ungvari
WHAT IS TRIZ?
Nominally, TRIZ is a Russian language acronym for the Russian words teoriya
resheniya izobretatelskikh zadatch, which can be translated into the theory of the
solution of inventive problems. This title is somewhat of a misnomer, because TRIZ
has moved out of the realm of theory and into a bona fide, scientifically based
methodology. The development, evolution, and refinement of TRIZ have consumed
some 50 years of rigorous, empirically based analysis by some of the brightest
scientific minds of the 20th century.
Nevertheless, the whole notion of creativity and innovation mentioned in the
context of science makes for an unusual pairing. Innovation and creativity are
typically thought of as spontaneous phenomena that happen in a capricious and
unpredictable way in the vast majority of people. Historically, only a precious few
individuals, such as Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Henry Ford, and Thomas
Edison, seem to have possessed an innate natural ability for creativity and inven-
tiveness.
The name, the theory of the solution of inventive problems, implies that inno-
vation and creative thought in the context of problem solving are supported by an
underlying construct and an architecture that can be deployed on an as-needed basis.
The implications of such a theory, if true, are enormous because it suggests that lay
individuals can elevate their creative thinking capabilities by orders-of-magnitude.
THE ORIGINS OF TRIZ
The inventor of TRIZ was Genrich Altshuller, a Russian (1926–1998). Altshuller
became interested in the process of invention and innovative thinking at an early
age. He patented a device for generating oxygen from hydrogen peroxide at the age
of 14. Altshuller’s fascination with inventions and innovation continued through
Stalin’s regime and World War II. After the war, Altshuller was assigned