Innovating Through Disruption: A Blend of TRIZ Principles and Classical Problem-Solving Models for Agile Solutions

We are living fast-changing times, and especially in the context where businesses want to remain competitive, they must adopt and implement tailored problem-solving approaches to navigate modern disruptions. In this research, the authors are presenting and proposing the integration of TRIZ’s Contradiction Matrix and 40 Inventive Principles for generating solutions of the identified root causes after using classical problem-solving models, as literature and experience show how struggling is to brainstorming actions when faced with a technical contradiction after the root cause analysis. By combining these approaches, companies can develop agile, systematic, and inventive solutions that drive their business to success. Literature has highlighted how powerful TRIZ is by itself, but not how enriching it can be when introducing principles of it in one of the steps of the classical problem-solving methodologies. This paper revolves around the question of how the solutions generated with problem-solving methods can eradicate the identified root cause and prevent recurrence when dealing with technical contradictions. Consequently, the authors have made a thorough literature review on the most used models and their supporting tools for generating solutions. A comparative analysis highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of classical methods has been performed to pave the way to the existing need for a stronger approach to problem eradication through powerful solutions. The article presents a case study from a manufacturing company, starting from a case already tackled through an 8D Report, but where there were challenges in finding a solution for the identified technical contradiction that would eradicate the problem. A case study using the hybrid model is presented without having a result after the action implementation, offering a roadmap for organizations seeking to lead change in a disruptive landscape.