science

Inventive standard

Inventive standard is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Inventive standard rather than just read about it. In short: In TRIZ, inventive standards are a set of rules of synthesis and transformation of technical systems directly resulting from laws of evolution of these systems. As a rule, solving of a complex inventive problem is addressed to a combination of at least one TRIZ method and physical effect.

Key takeaways

Inventive standard belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Inventive standard to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Inventive standard from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In TRIZ, inventive standards are a set of rules of synthesis and transformation of technical systems directly resulting from laws of evolution of these systems. As a rule, solving of a complex inventive problem is addressed to a combination of at least one TRIZ method and physical effect. Based on frequently used combinations of TRIZ methods and physical effects Genrich Altshuller proposed inventive standards.

Current definition (TRIZ glossary) According to the TRIZ Dictionary, an inventive standard is a problem-solving method that proposes a rule describing how to transform a given Su-Field in order to achieve the required result. The description of the rule consists of two parts: the left part presents an existing Su-Field that has to be improved (a generic model of a problem), and the right part presents a Su-Field that implements such an improvement (a generic model of a solution).

Ontology Diagram The following picture presents the ontology diagram of Inventive standard concept.

Related TRIZ terms (on the diagram) Standard Inventive Problem Substance-Field Model TRIZ method (?) Physical Effect

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Inventive standard

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Inventive standard claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Inventive standard before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Inventive standard ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Inventive standard

In research: Inventive standard appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Inventive standard in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Inventive standard is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Problem solving, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Inventive standard outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Inventive standard in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Inventive standard means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Inventive standard out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Inventive standard in simple terms?

Why does Inventive standard matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Inventive standard?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Inventive standard.