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name: triz description: Use when the user wants to solve a hard design, engineering, process, service, or strategy dilemma with TRIZ/ТРИЗ; expose technical or physical contradictions; define the Ideal Final Result (IFR); map resources; and force a short but explicit ladder of contradiction -> IFR -> resource -> move -> fast test. metadata: short-description: TRIZ Dilemma Solver

TRIZ

Use this skill when a normal fix creates a new problem.

Core rule

Start with the contradiction, not the idea.

Do not jump from framing to a solution concept. In short mode, the answer must still show contradiction -> IFR -> resource -> move -> fast test.

When to use

• improving A makes B worse
• the same element must be opposite at once
• the function is missing, weak, or harmful
• the system is bloated
• you need a future-state roadmap
• brainstorming keeps looping

Output discipline

Every answer must contain these five micro-elements in this order:

1. Contradiction
2. IFR
3. Resource
4. Move
5. Fast test

For benchmark, review, or high-stakes tasks, also show:

1. Problem frame
2. Mini-problem
3. Lane
4. Recommended path

Workflow

1) Frame the system

• Say what it does, for whom, and what breaks.
• Define system, subsystem, supersystem, operating zone, and operational time.
• Template: System does X for Y, but under C it causes Z.

2) Write the mini-problem

• Reduce the story to the smallest blocked interaction.
• Template: We need [useful action], but in the operating zone/time this causes [harm] or fails because [blockage].

3) State contradictions

• Technical: If we improve [A], [B] gets worse.
• Physical: Element [E] must be [A] and not-[A].
• Write both when possible; the physical version is usually sharper.
• If you cannot state a contradiction yet, stop and reframe. Do not propose a move first.

4) Define IFR

• The system itself delivers [result] without worsening [named contradiction side].
• The IFR must be observable, not promotional.
• The troublesome element disappears.
• The need disappears.

5) Map resources

• Internal: parts, waste, by-products, unused properties
• Field: heat, pressure, vibration, gravity, magnetism, flow, software, information, attention
• Time: before, during, after, idle time
• Space: gaps, surfaces, boundaries, interfaces
• External: environment, neighbors, cheap materials
• Supersystem: upstream/downstream processes, infrastructure, nearby actors
• Rule: prefer existing, free, or low-cost resources.
• A resource is valid only if it names a usable property or action that can power the move.

6) Lock the ladder before concept generation

Before generating moves, make sure the answer already contains:

• one contradiction
• one IFR
• at least one concrete resource

If any of the three is missing, do not move to solution concepts yet. If the resource cannot power a move, reframe the resource. If the IFR does not answer the contradiction, rewrite the IFR.

7) Pick a TRIZ lane

Technical contradiction

Use filtered inventive principles, not a raw list. Start with:

• Segmentation
• Extraction
• Local Quality
• Asymmetry
• Merging
• Dynamics
• Another Dimension
• Feedback
• Convert Harm into Benefit
• Generate concrete moves only after naming the contradiction, the IFR, and at least one usable resource.

Physical contradiction

Try, in order:

1. time separation
2. space separation
3. scale or hierarchy separation
4. condition or state separation
5. material or field substitution
6. changing the game so the contradiction disappears

Questions:

• different times?
• different places?
• different scales?
• different conditions?
• can another substance or field satisfy one side?

Su-Field / standard solutions

Model the problem as S1 - F - S2.

Check whether the field is missing, weak, too strong, or harmful; whether a third element helps; or whether the interaction should move to another level.

Trimming / idealization

Ask:

• what useful function does this part provide?
• who else can provide it?
• can the part serve itself?
• can the supersystem take over?
• can the need disappear?

Preferred order: remove, merge, reassign, substitute, add only if needed.

Trends of evolution

Use for roadmaps and redesign.

Look for:

• increasing ideality
• dynamization
• supersystem shift
• macro to micro shift
• better feedback
• uneven development
• more substance-field use
• rhythm harmonization

8) Break inertia if stuck

• Size-Time-Cost
• Smart Little People
• Extreme IFR
• reverse viewpoint
• boundary shift

9) Escalate to ARIZ-lite if still stuck

1. Define the initial problem and hierarchy
2. Locate operating zone and operational time
3. Write the mini-problem
4. Write the technical contradiction
5. Convert it into a physical contradiction and IFR-1
6. Map resources
7. Generate concepts from separation, Su-Field, effects, or system transition
8. Translate back to a concrete concept
9. Verify the contradiction is actually gone

10) Evaluate concepts

Rank by:

• contradiction removed
• ideality increased
• existing resources used
• complexity reduced
• harmful effects contained
• cheap test available

If two concepts tie, choose the one that removes a part or uses an existing resource. The recommended path must name one move and one fast test, not just a correct TRIZ genre. The fast test must check both the improved side and the non-worsened side of the contradiction.

Response format

Required micro-ladder

• Contradiction: [improve X, but Y worsens]
• IFR: [existing system/resource] delivers [result] without worsening [Y]
• Resource: [existing thing] -> [usable property/action]
• Move: [TRIZ lane/mechanism] -> [concrete change]
• Fast test: prove [X] improves while [Y] does not worsen

Full ladder for benchmark, review, or complex tasks

• Problem frame
• Mini-problem
• Lane
• Contradiction
• IFR
• Resource
• 2-5 moves
• Recommended path
• Fast test

Short mode may compress wording, but it may not skip the five micro-elements.

Guardrails

• Do not dump 40 principles without filtering.
• Do not jump from contradiction to a move without explicit IFR and resource.
• Do not add a new subsystem before checking the current system and supersystem.
• Do not stay abstract; every abstract move must return as a concrete concept.
• Do not overfit the contradiction matrix to non-engineering problems.
• Do not rely on hidden reasoning to cover missing TRIZ steps; show the five micro-elements explicitly.
• Do not stop at naming the right lane; translate it into an actionable move.
• Blind compression that weakens method reliability is a harmful move.
• Do not write an IFR that sounds promotional or magical.
• Do not name a resource unless the move explicitly uses it.
• Do not use a move that could fit any problem without modification.
• Do not use a fast test that checks convenience only.

References

• references/triz-principles.md for the full principle map and selection shortcuts.
• references/source-notes.md for the source map used to synthesize this skill.