Coaching practices for Triz 40 Inventive Principles
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Triz 40 Inventive Principles, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I’ve been brainstorming this for hours and every idea is a slight variation on the same one
- Every option I’m weighing is just a tweak on what already exists
- I keep going in circles on this because every fix just shoves the problem somewhere else
- What I’ve built has gotten so complicated that it keeps breaking in new places, and I suspect half the moving parts are doing work something else could absorb
- My first instinct is always that I need more
Practices that may help
- Sample inventive principles to generate solution directions
Apply one or more of TRIZ’s 40 inventive principles as generative lenses, even without the full contradiction matrix.
TRIZ: Systematic Invention and the Logic of Contradictions - TRIZ: Systematic Invention and the Logic of Contradictions
TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) is a systematic innovation method developed by Genrich Altshuller after analyzing hundreds of thousands of patents. Its core insight is that most breakthrough problems contain a "technical or physical contradiction" — a situation where improving one parameter worsens another — and that inventors across fields resolve these contradictions using a surprisingly small set of recurring strategies. - Define the ideal final result first
Describe the perfect outcome as if the solution already exists and costs nothing, then work backward to what could enable it.
TRIZ: Systematic Invention and the Logic of Contradictions - Name the contradiction at the heart of the problem
State exactly which parameter you need to improve and which parameter gets worse as a result.
TRIZ: Systematic Invention and the Logic of Contradictions - Trim components to find what you can remove
Systematically ask which components in your current solution could be removed if another component took over their function.
TRIZ: Systematic Invention and the Logic of Contradictions - Inventory available resources before adding anything new
List all time, space, information, and energy already present in or around the problem — solutions often hide there.
TRIZ: Systematic Invention and the Logic of Contradictions - Rebuild from fundamentals and stress-test it
Reassemble a solution from verified parts, then attack it to find where it breaks.
First-Principles Thinking, Made Usable - Combinatorial Creativity, Made Practical
Arthur Koestler’s bisociation theory holds that creative breakthroughs emerge when two previously unconnected frames of reference collide and suddenly fit — not from blank-slate invention but from unexpected combination. The practical implication is that creative output depends heavily on the breadth and diversity of your input: you can only combine what you have already absorbed. - Oblique Strategies, Made Practical
Oblique Strategies is a deck of constraint-based prompts created by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt to interrupt habitual thinking during creative blocks. The prompts work by forcing an indirect, unexpected approach to a problem rather than attacking it head-on. Evidence for constraint-based creativity is solid in cognitive research; the specific deck is widely used in music, design, and writing with strong anecdotal support. - Combine and build on others’ ideas
Treat every idea as a building block — the best ideas in a session are usually hybrids.
Osborn’s Brainstorming Rules, Made Practical
Related concerns
- Triz Levels Of Invention
TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) is a systematic innovation method developed by Genrich Altshuller after analyzing hundreds of thousands of patents. Its core insight is that most breakthrough problems contain a "technical or physical contradiction" — a situation where improving one parameter worsens another — and that inventors across fields resolve these contradictions using a surprisingly small set of recurring strategies.
- Triz Systematic Invention And The Logic Of Contradictions At Work
TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) is a systematic innovation method developed by Genrich Altshuller after analyzing hundreds of thousands of patents. Its core insight is that most breakthrough problems contain a "technical or physical contradiction" — a situation where improving one parameter worsens another — and that inventors across fields resolve these contradictions using a surprisingly small set of recurring strategies.
- Triz Systematic Invention And The Logic Of Contradictions During Conflict
TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) is a systematic innovation method developed by Genrich Altshuller after analyzing hundreds of thousands of patents. Its core insight is that most breakthrough problems contain a "technical or physical contradiction" — a situation where improving one parameter worsens another — and that inventors across fields resolve these contradictions using a surprisingly small set of recurring strategies.
- How To Use Triz
TRIZ (Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) is a systematic innovation method developed by Genrich Altshuller after analyzing hundreds of thousands of patents. Its core insight is that most breakthrough problems contain a "technical or physical contradiction" — a situation where improving one parameter worsens another — and that inventors across fields resolve these contradictions using a surprisingly small set of recurring strategies.
- Ideal Final Result Triz
Describe the perfect outcome as if the solution already exists and costs nothing, then work backward to what could enable it.
Define the ideal final result first
- Physical Contradiction Triz
State exactly which parameter you need to improve and which parameter gets worse as a result.
Name the contradiction at the heart of the problem
Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.