5TRIZ

Having mastered several techniques for solving problems and sparking innovation, such as the Five Whys and the Six Thinking Hats, Fawzooz began looking for new tools to tackle more complex obstacles. He chose TRIZ, a method of structured innovation that draws on historical patterns of problem-solving to discover new solutions.

Understanding TRIZ. TRIZ, Russian for the theory of inventive problem solving, offers a structured approach to innovation that focuses on reusing solutions to earlier problems in new contexts. Fawzooz understood that the technique rests on the idea that innovation evolves predictably, as seen by analysing how inventive challenges were solved in the past.

“Your problem has most likely been solved by someone before, somewhere else.”

Applying TRIZ in the village. Fawzooz decided to apply TRIZ to a long-standing challenge in his village: waste management and recycling. The problem was how to deal with growing waste in a sustainable, effective way.

Identifying the obstacles. Fawzooz and his team identified the main obstacles, such as a lack of recycling infrastructure and low awareness of the importance of sustainability.

Using TRIZ for solutions. They searched TRIZ resources for similar problems and how they had been solved. They found other towns had benefited from creative awareness campaigns and technologies that made sorting and recycling easy.

Innovation across industries. They adapted solutions from other industries, such as advanced waste-collection systems developed for large industry, and applied them at village scale.

Testing and evaluating. They set up prototype waste-collection systems and improved recycling programmes, and evaluated how well they worked locally.

The results. Using TRIZ, Fawzooz and his team created an effective recycling system tailored to their village’s needs. The new system reduced waste, improved public health, and raised environmental awareness.

The wider impact. Discovering TRIZ and applying it successfully encouraged Fawzooz to explore more possible innovations for other village issues. It also sparked community interest in learning and applying similar methods to improve quality of life.