Soviet problem-solving method TRIZ might be exactly what you are referring to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIZ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIZ Also, hav

Soviet problem-solving method TRIZ might be exactly what you are referring to: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIZ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIZ Also, have a look at Polya's "How to solve it": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Solve_It https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Solve_It