Not long time ago I took part in a Potato-Chip-Challenge (sounds weird? … is actually really funny), where we had to construct a protection/package for a single potato chip. It was basically all about being innovative … and maybe to create the Potato-Chip-Package of the future? The task was to build a box out of two materials, cardboard and tape (bonus: we were allowed to bring one extra material to the challenge), which at the ende had to resist various kinds of impacts and water. At this event TRIZ was introduced to help us.

TRIZ is a problem-solving philosophy based on logic, data and research, rather than on intuition.

It draws on the past knowledge and ingenuity of thousands of engineers to speed up creative problem solving for project teams. Its approach brings repeatability, predictability and reliability to the problem-solving process and delivers a set of dependable tools.

TRIZ is the Russian acronym for the “Theory of Inventive Problem Solving,” an international system of creativity developed in the U.S.S.R. between 1946 and 1985, by engineer and scientist Genrich S. Altshuller and his colleagues.

What does TRIZ stand for?

Understanding TRIZ

Generally, the theory is based on the hypothesis that “Somebody, sometime, somewhere has already solved your problem or one similar to it. Creativity means finding that solution and adapting it to the current problem.”

• Problems and solutions are repeated across industries and sciences. By representing a problem as a “contradiction” (we explore this later in this article), you can predict creative solutions to that problem.
• Patterns of technical evolution tend to repeat themselves across industries and sciences.
• Creative innovations often use scientific effects outside the field where they were developed.

Using TRIZ consists of learning these repeating patterns of problem and solution, understanding the contradictions present in a situation, and developing new methods of using scientific effects.

You then apply the general TRIZ patterns to the specific situation that confronts you, and discover a generalized version of the problem.

Eliminating Contradictions

Another fundamental TRIZ concept is that there are fundamental contradictions at the root of most problems. In many cases, a reliable way to solve a problem is to eliminate these contradictions.

TRIZ has two categories of contradictions:

1. Technical contradictions. These are classical engineering “trade-offs,” where you can’t reach the desired state because something else in the system prevents it. In other words, when something gets better, something else automatically gets worse. For example:
   • The product gets stronger (good), but the weight increases (bad).
   • Service is customized to each customer (good), but the service delivery system gets complicated (bad).
   • Training is comprehensive (good), but it keeps employees away from their assignments (bad).
2. Physical (or “inherent”) contradictions. These are situations in which an object or system suffers contradictory, opposite requirements. Everyday examples include:
   • Software should be complex (to have many features), but simple (to be easy to learn).
   • Coffee should be hot (to be enjoyed), but cool (to avoid burning the drinker).

Actually, on one side this method is really simple and makes much sense (usage of previous experience of knowledgeable engineers etc.) but on the other side – at least for me – it was not that easy to apply this technique right at the first time. Therefore I recommend everyone to give it a few try’s and of course have a look in the internet as there are a few more interesting articles about TRIZ.

In one of our Innovation Methodology classes we had the chance to learn the SCAMPER Method, which can be seen as an Idea Manipulation Tool to guide us in generating diverse ideas. As I never heard about this Technique before, I was quite curious how you can apply it in real life. It was very interesting and I learned – for instance – that you can have the craziest ideas by using following scheme (which are btw perfect for innovations – I think every innovations was considered crazy at some pint, right?!):

The Scamper Technique can be seen as a checklist for developing or improving products or services. SCAMPER is a mnemonic that stands for: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, Reverse. This technique can be used by asking questions about existing products or services, using each of the seven prompts. These questions help you come up with creative ideas for developing new or improving current products and services. They can produce surprising, but sometimes also very useful ideas.

How Do You Apply SCAMPER?

For each of the elements, simply ask yourself a series of questions and then capture the ideas that come to you. I’ve found that when I use SCAMPER, I seem to come up with ideas that are much better than the one I started with – it works almost always.

1. S – Substitute

Remove some part of the accepted situation, thing, or concept and replace it with something else.

Some example questions asked during this part could be:

• What materials or resources can you substitute or swap to improve the product?
• What other product or process could you use?
• What will happen if you change your feelings or attitude toward this product?
• Can you replace the process with simpler one?
• Where else could you sell the product?
• Can the project time or place be replaced?

2. C – Combine

Join, affiliate, or force together two or more elements of your subject matter and consider ways that such a combination might move you toward a solution.

Some example questions may be:

• Can you merge two steps of the process?
• What would happen if you combined this product with another, to create something new?
• What could you combine to maximize the uses of this product?
• Can you mix two or more components together?

3. A – Adapt

Change some part of your problem so that it works where it did not before. 

Some example questions may be:

• What would you need to change to reach better results?
• How can you improve the existing process?
• Who or what could you emulate to adapt this product?
• What other products or ideas could you use for inspiration?

4. M – Modify

Consider many of the attribute of the thing you’re working on and change them, arbitrarily, if necessary. Attributes include: size, shape, other dimensions, texture, color, attitude, position, history, and so on.

Some example questions may be:

• How will modifying the process improve results?
• How could you change the attributes of your product?
• What could you add to modify this product?
• What if the attribute of the product is doubled or halved?

5. P – Purpose (Put to other use)

Modify the intention of the subject. Think about why it exists, what it is used for, what it’s supposed to do. Challenge all of these assumptions and suggest new and unusual purposes.

Some example questions may be:

• What other parts in the company can use the product?
• What are other ways can you use it?
• Can you use this product somewhere else?
• Could you recycle the waste from this product to make something new?

6. E – Eliminate

Arbitrarily remove any or all elements of your subject, simplify, reduce to core functionality.

Some example questions may be:

• What would happen if you remove this part?
• Do you need this specific part?
• How could you make it smaller?
• What features, parts, or rules could you eliminate?

7. R – Reverse

Change the direction or orientation. Turn it upside-down, inside-out, or make it go backwards, against the direction it was intended to go or be used. 

Some example questions may be:

• What would happen if you reversed this process differently?
• What if you consider it backwards?
• What roles could you reverse or swap?

Conclusion:

In essence you should ask yourself questions relating to each of the SCAMPER words to come up with new ideas. Spend some time developing questions which challenge your current way of thinking.

Most people apparently think constraints are something like an obstacle to overcome which is unpleasing and makes everything harder than it already is. But actually some limitations can improve your work, your creativity and the skill to innovate way further than you might imagine.

‘Constraints shape and focus problems and provide clear challenges to overcome. Creativity thrives best when constrained.’

– Marissa Mayer, former vice-president for search products and user experience at Google

For example Phil Hansen. He is a multimedia artist with a handicap (constraint) who works at the intersection of traditional visual art, pointillism, and offbeat techniques. He is most widely known for his meta-art, videos that document the creation process, showing millions that art is action, not just result.

There are various ways how you can limit your actions/projects:

• Budget your creativity: Limiting the amount of money you spend on a project can force you to think of new ways to create.
• Set yourself a deadline: Restrict the amount of time you work on specific projects. Our bodies work in ultradian rhythms, and after 90 minutes of work on the same thing, we max out on doing our best work.
• Limit your content: Only write how-to posts on Mondays, or base a post around a photo you took this week. Open a random book and use a random phrase to build a piece of content on.
• ….

To create something unique, start with your constraints. Don’t stop because you have limited resources. Force yourself to think outside the box. It seems like a paradox that creative limitations give you more freedom but try it out and limit your next project. The more often you will set yourself constraints the more you strengthens your creative muscles and you will learn how to do it again. You will not regret it.

What is design thinking all about? Design thinking is a non-linear, iterative process which seeks to understand users, challenge assumptions, redefine problems and create innovative solutions to prototype and test. The method consists of 5 phases—Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Test and is most useful when you want to tackle problems that are ill-defined or unknown.

Phase 1: Empathise

Empathy provides the critical starting point for Design Thinking. The first stage of the process is spent getting to know the user and understanding their wants, needs and objectives. This means observing and engaging with people in order to understand them on a psychological and emotional level.

Phase 2: Define

The second stage in the Design Thinking process is dedicated to defining the problem. You’ll gather all of your findings from the empathise phase and start to make sense of them: what difficulties and barriers are your users coming up against? What patterns do you observe? What is the big user problem that your team needs to solve? By the end of the define phase, you will have a clear problem statement. The key here is to frame the problem in a user-centered way. Once you’ve formulated the problem into words, you can start to come up with solutions and ideas — which brings us onto stage three.

Phase 3: Ideate

With a solid understanding of your users and a clear problem statement in mind, it’s time to start working on potential solutions. The third phase in the Design Thinking process is where the creativity happens, and it’s crucial to point out that the ideation stage is a judgement-free zone! Designers will hold ideation sessions in order to come up with as many new angles and ideas as possible. There are many different types of ideation technique that designers might use, from brainstorming and mindmapping to bodystorming (roleplay scenarios) and provocation — an extreme lateral-thinking technique that gets the designer to challenge established beliefs and explore new options and alternatives. Towards the end of the ideation phase, you’ll narrow it down to a few ideas with which to move forward.

Phase 4: Prototype

The fourth step in the Design Thinking process is all about experimentation and turning ideas into tangible products. A prototype is basically a scaled-down version of the product which incorporates the potential solutions identified in the previous stages. This step is key in putting each solution to the test and highlighting any constraints and flaws. Throughout the prototype stage, the proposed solutions may be accepted, improved, redesigned or rejected depending on how they fare in prototype form.

Phase 5: Test

After prototyping comes user testing, but it’s important to note that this is rarely the end of the Design Thinking process. In reality, the results of the testing phase will often lead you back to a previous step, providing the insights you need to redefine the original problem statement or to come up with new ideas you hadn’t thought of before.

There are a lot of things a fresh Startup-Company can do wrong by acquiring investors. A good example of how not to attract investors is the well-known medical company ‘Thesaurus’ which was lead by Elizabeth Holmes and her ‘Fake it till you make it’ strategy (If you do not know about this yet, here is a must watch: https://bit.ly/2Zkd0qN). In the following I present you 5-key-points that may help to gather investment for your own company:

Note: As an Investor this page can be relevant as well. All tips can be used as key-points to look at when investing in innovative companies.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.