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.
Key takeaways
- What it is: Apply one or more of TRIZ’s 40 inventive principles as generative lenses, even without the full contradiction matrix.
- Why it works: The 40 inventive principles are distilled solution archetypes that recur across domains and industries. Applying even a few of them (segmentation, the other way round, dynamics, preliminary action) forces the brain out of its default solution search and into structurally different solution spaces. The principles work as generative prompts — not answers, but oblique questions that bypass fixation.
- Evidence: Backed by observational / correlational evidence.
- Avoid: Evaluating each principle’s generated idea immediately, which kills divergent search before the full solution space is visible. Generate first, evaluate separately.
Why it works
The 40 inventive principles are distilled solution archetypes that recur across domains and industries. Applying even a few of them (segmentation, the other way round, dynamics, preliminary action) forces the brain out of its default solution search and into structurally different solution spaces. The principles work as generative prompts — not answers, but oblique questions that bypass fixation.
How to do it
- 1Pick 3–5 inventive principles at random or from a contradiction-matrix lookup (segmentation, preliminary action, dynamics, inversion, composite materials are good starting points).
- 2For each principle, ask: "If I applied this principle to my problem, what would that look like?"
- 3Generate at least one concrete solution direction per principle before evaluating any.
- 4Combine promising directions from two different principles to find novel hybrid approaches.
What the evidence says
ObservationalThe 40 principles are derived from Altshuller’s large-scale patent analysis (reportedly 40,000+ patents in early versions, later expanded). Their efficacy as creative prompts is supported by practitioner reports and some observational studies of engineering teams; controlled experimental evidence is limited.
Honest caveat: Most published TRIZ outcome evidence comes from engineering and product development; generalization to knowledge work or personal problem solving is plausible but not well studied.
Common mistake
Evaluating each principle’s generated idea immediately, which kills divergent search before the full solution space is visible. Generate first, evaluate separately.
IX Coach surfaces the inventive principles most relevant to your stated contradiction and walks you through applying them, one by one, as solution lenses.
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