Introduction to Basic I-TRIZ
 I-TRIZ Foundations
 Levels of Invention
 Inventive Problem
   Psychological Inertia
   Contradictions
 Patterns of Invention
   Analogical Thinking
   Directions
 Patterns of Evolution
 Ideality
   Ideal System
   Ideal Vision
   Functional Modeling
   Local Ideality
 Resources
   Derived Resources
   Insufficient Resources
 Problem Solving
 Brainstorming
 Ideation Process

What is an Inventive Problem?

There are two groups of problems people face: those with generally known solutions and those with unknown solutions. Those with known solutions can usually be solved by information found in books, technical journals, or with subject matter experts. The other type is called an inventive problem.

 

New Knowledge

New knowledge applied to known problems.

 

Example: New plastics provide strong, lightweight products.

New knowledge applied to new problems.

 

Example: Various uses for lasers (surgery, etc).

Existing Knowledge

Existing knowledge applied to  known problems.

 

Example: All tasks with generally known solutions.

Existing knowledge does not provide satisfactory solution.

 

We are dealing with an
inventive problem

 

Known Problem

New Problem

 

An inventive problem is a problem that:

  • Suggests no known means for solution
  • Is especially prone to psychological inertia
  • Involves one or more contradictions. A contradiction is a situation where an attempt to improve one feature of the system leads to the degradation of another feature.