Solving contradictions delivers clever, cost effective answers to achieve everything, everyone wants banishing weak, compromise solutions.
Some problems are easy to solve especially if we want just one thing. Contradictions occur when the two connected things are in conflict, and to get both we need a different logic, and proven ways to resolve them. The unique 40 TRIZ Inventive Principles (TIPS) reveal all the ways the world knows to solve contradictions and is derived from global research into success.
Learning to seek and uncover contradictions exposes the fundamental tension at the heart of many difficult, complex challenges. Contradiction thinking helps us to avoid settling for second best, or weak solutions. The Contradiction toolkit ensures conflicting needs are clearly identified, and then solution triggers from the 40 TRIZ Inventive Principles (TIPS) suggest the best ways to tackle them.
There are two kinds of contradiction (both solved by the 40 TIPS) the most fundamental is when we want opposites of the same feature like an umbrella - both BIG and SMALL; in TRIZ this is called a Physical Contradiction. The other is a BAD SOLUTION when making one thing better something else gets worse, solving the contradiction ensures we keep the GOOD and deal with the BAD. In TRIZ this is called a Technical Contradiction.
Recognising a contradiction helps when challenges feel impossible, teams sense they are stuck with a problem mess and feel pulled in opposite directions. Difficulties can arise from stakeholder conflict, cost issues, or the system requires two things that do not seem to fit together, getting what everyone wants looks impossible. Every way forward feels like a compromise or leading to an unsatisfactory outcome.
Uncovering contradictions stops us circling around the symptoms or weak answers, revealing the underlying tension to open up and guide teams to logical, stronger ways forward.
Bad Solutions/Technical Contradictions are solved using the TIPS suggested by
the TRIZ Contradiction Matrix, which highlights about 4-10 Principles which have solved similar contradictions. A Bad Solution often has the word but in describing the downside of the solution, for example I make something stronger BUT it gets heavier.
To solve Opposites/Physical Contradictions we use the Separation Principles
(or prompts). These direct us to one of four relevant subsets of the 40 TIPS. The
word AND often appears in the description. Separation Principles prompts us with simple questions asking do we want these opposites...
At the same TIME? (umbrella – Big and Small)
In the same SPACE? (plate – Hot in middle and cold at rim)
On CONDITION. Opposite conditions for different elements/same time and space (sieve – catches pasta and allows water through)
SCALE - the same system level? (Bike chain - rigid at subsystem and flexible at system level)
These amazing questions clear the mental mists and together with the relevant subset of the 40 TIPS usually reveal clear ways forward to clever, innovative answers.
To separate in time ask WHEN or at what stages do we want the opposite features – when do we want a small or BIG umbrella? There are 17 TIPS which help our thinking giving us all known solution triggers to achieve both.
Similarly, a telescopic board pointer is long and short at different times.
12 TIPS guide us to all the ways the world knows to deliver opposite solutions at the same time but in different places. A plate which is both hot and cold shows this. To separate in space ask WHERE do we want these opposites?
However, if our opposites are coincident and therefore at the same time, place and level then we can separate them on condition. A simple example of this is a security check which lets some people through but not others, or a restaurant which only welcomes certain customers. Separate on condition offers 8 of the 40 TIPS to see how to apply different rules under different conditions.
These prompts stop the team looking to reduce both the creativity and control in a weak compromise by pushing them together and blending these opposites. Instead by using the Separation Prompts we pull them further apart to deliver as much creativity and control as is needed in the right times places and under the perfect conditions.