8 TRIZ Trends of Evolution reveal patterns into the future for all products. They are a standalone section of the TRIZ toolkit which can be learned and used in a few hours.
TRIZ research showed that products, processes and technical systems evolve over time in predictable patterns. The TRIZ Trends of Evolution were observed from studying millions of patents. They show the broad, general directions that all technologies develop (evolve) so they can be used to help forecast component and system developments.
In describing Trends TRIZ literature can be confusing as different names are used in different books but basically in TRIZ terms: Trends = Patterns = Laws of Evolution (although sometimes the term LAW is used less as it is seen as too specific- in that laws must be obeyed).
The 8 TRIZ Trends of Evolution are very general and define the broad directions of evolution. In TRIZ literature you will see all these terms used interchangeably and see many different numbers of these patterns/laws in different books…8, 10, 20, 30 and similarities in all the lists. In Oxford TRIZ we show that there are 8 Trends/Laws of Evolution and the greater numbers in other systems are just a more detailed dividing up of the original list. The eight trends have a large number (230-340) of subsets known as lines of evolution.
