[wheelinsupial]

I’m not sure if it’s similar to what you’re talking about, but there is something called “TRIZ” that’s a collection of “things” we were introduced to in a mechanical design class I took.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIZ

[eternityforest]

I think TRIZ applies to software in some cases too, but I usually get down voted for saying so.