In the world of creativity And of theinnovation, you can quickly drown in methods, tools, theories and even a good number of pseudo-theories. So how do you sort it out?

In this world, there are a lot of “magicians”: those who want to make it look like they have secrets.

There are also a lot of “logicians”: those who base their approach on scrupulous compliance with a process.

Well, neither a magician nor a logistician, I suggest that you continue our overview of innovative design methods.

Remember, we already talked about Design Thinking, an approach that I use in my job. It's time to talk to you about TRIZ.

TRIZ, a highly creative innovation method

You already understood it: TRIZ is not a candy brand, but a method of creativity and innovation that has proven itself.

Its origin?
It is Genrich Altshuller, a Soviet engineer, who from 1946 developed his Inventive Problem Solving Theory. What, in Russian, gives the acronym TRIZ.

His interest?
It allows everyone to practice a form of guided creativity, as opposed to brainstorming, which is more random. Moreover, for Altshuller:

“Creativity is not a gift. Every engineer can learn to be inventive.”

Its legitimacy?
It is the careful study of 40,000 patents which made it possible to set it up. In short, a real engineering thing.

His big idea?
Les technological advancements do not happen by chance. They respond to laws that can be described.

There are three consequences as a result:

1. The problems encountered in designing an innovation are very similar from one field to another. The solutions, too, are analogous and can be replicated.
2. Technical development models can be replicated from one field to another.
3. To innovate, it is possible to use scientific effects observed in adjacent fields.

What seems very interesting to me is that TRIZ is a creative method in essence, because it invites us to a creative detour.

Faced with an innovative design problem, TRIZ consists in first going through a phase ofabstraction. It is a question of “coding” the problem to be solved in the form of contradictions.

To do this, we have:

• 39 technical parameters, for example length, thickness, strength, which may conflict with each other
• 40 principles of innovation, who can resolve these contradictions
• 1 matrix of contradictions which, for each contradiction, matches the principles of innovation and therefore the generic solutions that can work

Have I lost you? This is how it can work in practice.

A concrete example of using TRIZ

For example, we want to make an airplane wing that is as light as possible. But if it is lighter, it may be less resistant. There is a contradiction between two functions: the weights And the mechanical strength.

Thanks to the Contradiction resolution matrix, established on the basis of the analysis of existing patents, at the crossroads between “weight and mechanical strength”, we will find solutions:

• Use composites
• Divide the room into several parts

TRIZ is also a method of creativity

It is certainly a guided creativity method, because it's less random than the brainstorming we've already talked about together.

Here are the 4 rules of the game for a TRIZ workgroup, which are very similar to those of a creativity group:

• The solution can never be found by staying in your field of expertise
• It is necessary to promote multidisciplinarity
• Technical terms should be avoided and replaced by others
• You have to respect outlandish ideas

To fight againstmental inertia which takes us away from the solution, TRIZ offers interesting techniques.

Among them, the Miniature men's method : we imagine that the object studied is populated by miniature men. One wonders how these men could act within the object to mitigate or remove the identified technical contradiction.

This exercise forces visualize the problem and to examine it “from within” to better resolve it.

Recognized effectiveness, but some limitations

The main interest of TRIZ consists in offering solution models.

It is widely used in France, in industries such asaeronautical Or theautomotive. It has its recognized experts, and 2 or 3 software programs allow it to be practiced.

However, some chafouin minds formulate some limitations. Here are three:

• The contradiction matrix dates from the 70s and has not been revised in the light of subsequent technical and technological developments.
• TRIZ is a complex method. Too complex, some would say
• The scientific quality of the working group is crucial. Otherwise, the method is useless

We often oppose TRIZ and “creativity” in the sense of creative problem solving. In reality, the two approaches seem to be quite complementary.

You could say that TRIZ uses knowledge as a priority, and that Creativity primarily exploits the imagination.