Page 258 - Design for Six Sigma for Service (Six SIGMA Operational Methods)

Chapter
9

Theory of Inventive Problem
Solving (TRIZ)

9.1 Introduction

TRIZ (Teoriya Resheniya Izobreatatelskikh Zadatch) is the theory of
inventive problem solving (TIPS) developed in the Soviet Union starting in
the late 1940s. TRIZ was developed based on 1500+ person years of
research and study of many of the world’s most successful solutions of
problems from science and engineering, and systematic analysis of suc-
cessful patents from around the world, as well as the study of the psycho-
logical aspects of human creativity (Mann 2002).

Dr. Genrich S. Altshuller, the creator of TRIZ, started the investigation on
invention and creativity in 1946. After initially reviewing 200,000 former
Soviet Union patent abstracts, Altshuller selected 40,000 as representatives
of inventive solutions. He separated the patents’ different degrees of inven-
tiveness into five levels, with level 1 being the lowest and level 5 being the
highest. He found that almost all invention problems contain at least one
contradiction, where a contradiction is defined as a situation where an
attempt to improve one feature of the system detracts from another feature.
He found that the level of invention often depends on how well the contra-
diction is resolved.

Level 1. Apparent or Conventional Solution: 32 Percent; Solution by
Methods Well Known within Specialty
Inventions at level 1 represent 32 percent of the patent inventions and
employ obvious solutions drawn from only a few clear options. Actually
level 1 inventions are not real inventions but narrow extensions or
improvements of existing systems, which are not substantially changed due
to the application of the invention. Usually a particular feature is enhanced
or strengthened. Examples of level 1 inventions include increasing the

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