Frugal Innovation is an unorthodox approach to product design recognized in many developing countries, where creativity is essential to generate solutions that increase economic and social value while fewer resources, usually taken for granted are available, if at all, keeping the focus on delivering the main function with state-of-art technology. Big companies are also applying a similar philosophy, called "disruptive innovation" or "reverse innovation", to meet the needs of potential customers with limited buying power and enter new markets, introducing novel business models. The peculiar attentiveness to the sparse usage of raw materials and resources offered by frugal innovation is also relevant for rethinking the design process in view of sustainable development. The present paper will review some examples and show how the TRIZ thinking frame can effectively assist frugal innovation projects, formulating the Ideal Final Result and formalizing a dedicated process, based on Resource Analysis, Functional Analysis and Trimming.
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