Classical TRIZ means TRIZ as developed by G. S. Altshuller and under his leadership. It includes all versions of ARIZ (Algorithm for Inventive Problem Solving) developed until 1985 (the ARIZ 85-V version).

Perhaps the last "official" description of Classical TRIZ is the one from "Information on Teaching TRIZ", a document created by Genrich Altshuller and Igor Vertkin in 1988 and translated from Russian to English by Nikolai Khomenko in 2007. It includes:

- Trial and Error Method and Its Modifications;
- Laws of Technical System Evolution;
- TRIZ Standards;
- ARIZ - Algorithm for Inventive Problem Solving;
- Inventive Sources for TRIZ;
- Life Strategy of Creative Personality;
- TRIZ Application to Non-engineering Domains;
- TRIZ Teaching.

It is important to note that ARIZ 85-V does not include the probably most famous TRIZ tool, the contradiction matrix and the associated inventive principles. This is because Altshuller considered that later TRIZ instruments, included in ARIZ 85-V, are much more powerful and much less "trial-and-error".