TABLE OF CONTENTS In this book, we will study how to generate and select good solutions to problems using TRIZ, a new theory of problem solving. The term "TRIZ" comes from the Russian phrase teorija rezhenija izobretatelskih zadach which means the "theory of inventive problem solving."
But why do we need a new theory? Without a theory, people generate ideas by guesswork and then select the ones they like or those they think other people will like. With TRIZ, you will be able to generate better ideas faster and you will have a basis for selecting the best ideas, the ideas that will solve your problem effectively and form a basis for further improvements. In this chapter we show that good ideas have frequently been rejected when first proposed. Much money and time and human effort is lost when good ideas are rejected.
We show that people cannot select ideas properly and cannot produce better ideas effectively if they are unaware of the common features of good solutions: resolving contradictions and making use of idle resources. We show that common, traditional approaches to problem solving have often turned out to be dead ends. We need TRIZ, the theory based on the features of great inventions and the patterns of the evolution of systems, rather than approaches with no theory, based on the psychology of people.
People create new technologies and make creative use of existing technologies, generating lots of new ideas. But how can we...
