The TRIZ theory, a theory of invention as a support to R&D activities; principles and methods

For almost two decades, TRIZ (the Russian acronym for Theory of Inventive Problem Solving) has been establishing itself as a well-equipped theoretical approach to the search for solution concepts, particularly in industry. To date, a number of assessments of its uses have been carried out, and the results all attest to its potential. However, perceptions of this enigmatic acronym are legion, and its results in business, education and research are often controversial. If one article title sums up this state of affairs, it's the one published in Philippe Beaufils' magazine "Industries et Techniques" in June 2001, where he titles his article as follows: "La TRIZ intrigue, dérange, séduit..." (TRIZ intrigues, disturbs, seduces...).

This article, the first in a series of two, is devoted to the fundamentals of TRIZ (description of its postulates) and the first steps to help the reader perceive how to orient a study of the evolution of a technical object, describe its contradictions and unblock its psychological inertia.

This document pragmatically explores the content of the TRIZ body of knowledge, in order to provide as accurate an overview as possible of what it contains. In the first, rather theoretical and descriptive section, we review the theory's axioms, methods, tools and knowledge bases. In the second part, we present an example developed through the main stages of the TRIZ methodological process.

The second article [AG 5 212] is dedicated to TRIZ tools.