TRIZ and Ideation Methods

Ideas are not a product of chance. You have to develop them or search for them systematically. The art of innovation management is to use the right approaches to find the best ideas for the company.

The 40 TRIZ Principles are a list of known innovation approaches. Studying these can inspire you to solve your problems and create innovative solutions. See TRIZ

Below are some examples of applying structured innovative thinking. uniPlus can facilitate workshops tuned to your key competence and customer experience.

4 - 3 - 20 Method

  • Define 4 topics and assign a flipchart and a moderator to each
  • The 4 groups develop 3 solutions in 20 minutes
  • Groups switch topics and continue based on previous groups’ solutions
  • Each group works on each topic once
  • At the end of the ideation each moderator summarizes the ideas on the flipchart

Concept Analysis

Concepts are assessed based on 3 criteria:
  • Technology (Feasibility, Sustainability, Manufacturability, Scalability)
  • Customer / Stakeholder (Benefit, Acceptance) -> Value to Customer
  • Business (Investment, Sales, Risks) -> Value to Company
Concepts are ranked relatively to each other and positioned on a diagram

2D-Portfolio Analysis

Step 1: Decide on X and Y axis, e.g.:
  • Time to market
  • Investment intensity
  • Degree of novelty
  • Customer value
  • Company fit
  • Commercial potential

Step 2: Assess concepts

Step 3: Decide which concepts to pursue

6 Thinking Hats

  1. Managing - What are we thinking about? Subject? Goal?
  2. Information - What information is available? Facts?
  3. Emotions - Intuitive, instinctive, emotional, ‘gut-reactions’ and feeling
  4. Discernment - Reasons to be cautious and conservative
  5. Optimistic - Identifying benefits and seeking harmony
  6. Creativity - Thought Investigation, Development and Provocative Ideas

Please contact uniPlus Design and Consulting for inquiries regarding custom made training and development or coaching workshops.