TRIZ is the brainchild of late Russian inventor Genrich Altshuller (1926-98), who worked as a patent inspector. In the process of observing invention after invention, Altshuller sought to identify a consistent formula for innovation. In 1946, he published an article laying out his theory of structured innovation, which he titled “Teoriya Resheniya Izobretatelskikh Zadatch.” That translates roughly into “Theory of Inventive Problem Solving,” or TRIZ, for short.