We are excited to announce that we have recently released an additional creative thinking tool: Perception Mapping (PMap). In this post, we want to describe what is it good for and why should anyone use it. What is Perception Mapping? Perception mapping (PMap) is a creative thinking tool that allows finding blockers (barriers) that prevent achieving a certain goal. When one creates a plan of how to achieve something, he will typically build a list of things needed for it, list of actions to be taken. It is no doubt that all these actions (perceptions) are good and aim to…

Many agree that problem-solving tools can speed up the innovation process—but when asked if they use them regularly, most say, “No, I don’t have time for tools.”This contradiction highlights a major challenge: people don’t play chess without rules or perform surgery without training—but often try to solve complex problems without the right instruments. That’s where the innovation platform comes in. Understanding the Role of an Innovation Platform Let’s explore how structured systems operate—and how the same thinking applies to innovation. Engineering System StructureAccording to Genrikh Altshuller’s Law of System Completeness, any engineering system includes: For simplicity, we can group the…

In today’s world, every company is trying its best to innovate. Some are very successful at that, but the majority are not so much. In this article, I wanted to share some of my personal experiences with how many people solve problems and innovate. A typical example Here is a common situation in many problem solving workshops I am conducting. Teh audience is split into small groups. Each group is working on a certain problem. As a facilitator, I am moving from one group to another to see how are they doing and to provide guidance. I am approaching one…

The expenses on R&D is the most popular indicator of company innovation level. And many organizations are following that. They dump money on R&D with the hope to innovate more. But the question is, Is there a correlation between innovation rank and R&D expenses? There is a lot of related information you can find on the web, we, however, made our own analysis that confirmed that high R&D spending does not mean high innovation level of a company. In short, you can’t buy yourself an innovation. High innovation rank at low R&D cost should be the preferable target for a…

In any industry, problems can arise unexpectedly, disrupting operations, increasing costs, and hindering innovation. Root cause analysis (RCA) is a systematic approach to identifying the underlying reasons for these issues, going beyond surface-level symptoms to prevent recurrence. Whether you’re an engineer troubleshooting a manufacturing defect, an R&D manager refining a product design, or an operations leader aiming for continuous improvement, mastering RCA can transform how you tackle challenges. At PRIZ Guru, we specialize in innovation and problem-solving tools that make RCA more intuitive and effective. Our platform empowers teams to uncover true causes and generate creative solutions. In this definitive…

We all remember the well-known aphorism by Robert Atkins “Don’t fix what’s not broken.” The meaning is clear – do not change something that works well. Let’s take it to the next level as innovators and problem-solvers: “Don’t fix what’s broken.” Indeed, do we really need to fix something that is not working well? Why should not we fix what’s broken? Fixing something is the most expensive and the least productive process. The only goal of fixing the broken part is to get it back to where it was before, to return it to the previous state. Fixing is an…

The term Kaizen originated from Japan. The meaning of the word Kaizen is “change for the better.” Over time, Kaizen became one of the leading business philosophies and converted into a competitive strategy – continuous improvement. Both words are critical For a better chance to succeed with your business, you should implement Kaizen as a way of life. PRIZ Innovator & Kaizen PRIZ Innovator helps organizations to implement and adopt Kaizen. All Creative thinking tools that the Innovator offers are driving our thinking in a direction of better organizational performance. As we all know, time is the most expensive commodity….

Most teams react to a failure as if the failure itself is the target. A defect appears, scrap happens, pressure rises, and the organization moves fast to “fix what happened.”Innovation begins earlier than that.Innovation starts when you define the right problem: the solvable gap created by the failure. One failure can create multiple problems, and each problem can lead to a different improvement path. When the problem is framed well, the team gains a clean runway for both root cause analysis and inventive solutions.If you want a deeper explanation of the “failure vs. problem” distinction, link this sentence to your…

As problem solvers, we are typically surrounded by a “wall” of psychological inertia. This keeps us within the boundaries of the previous experience. In other words, psychological inertia always pushes a problem solver to “look for a lost wallet under a streetlight.” In this post, we want to show how problem-solving (or creative thinking) tools can help us break through this wall of psychological inertia. What are these problem-solving tools for? As mentioned above, problem-solving tools, or sometimes referred to as creative thinking tools, help us break through the “wall” of the psychological inertia and enter the field of new…