Techniques for generating ideas

Image: fotographic1980 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

“Creativity as a process of becoming sensitive to problems,

deficiencies, gaps in knowledge, missing elements, disharmonies,

and so on; identifying the difficulty; searching for solutions,

making guesses, or formulating hypotheses about the deficiencies:

testing and retesting these hypotheses and possibly modifying and

retesting them; and finally communicating the results.”

(Torrance, 1965)

Criativity

Image: ddpavumba / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Techniques for generating ideas

• Brainstorming

• Brainwriting

• SCAMPER

Techniques for generating ideasBrainstorming

Brainstorming is a technique for generating new ideas, concepts

and solutions to any subject or topic, on an environment free of

critiques and constraints to imagination. This technique is useful

when we want to generate, in a short period, a big amount of

ideas about a subject to be solved, possible causes of one

problem, approaches to be used or actions to be taken.

Source: http://www.brainstorming.co.uk/tutorials/scampertutorial.htmlImage: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Techniques for generating ideasBrainstormingHow to use:

• Clarify session objectives and rules;

• Define the problem (what is the question?);

• Schedule the session;

• Give people some minutes to think about the question;

• Write ideas in a flipchart (everyone can see);

• Clarify the meaning of each presented idea;

• Remove duplicated ideas.

Techniques for generating ideasBrainwriting

Brainwriting is a group creativity technique for generating new

ideas based on brainstorming. The main difference is that it is

not the quality of ideas that matters but the quantity.

Image: David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Techniques for generating ideasBrainwtitingHow to use:

• Each participant receives an empty sheet and write three ideas;

• Each participant passes the sheet to the right and receives

another from the left;

• Each participant adds three new ideas to the received sheet

(ideas are influenced by what they read);

• Repeat the process until all participants have written three ideas

in all sheets.

Techniques for generating ideasSCAMPER

SCAMPER is a technique that uses a set of directed questions

which you answer about your problems and opportunities in

order to come up with new ideas.

Techniques for generating ideasSCAMPERSubstitute What can I substitute to make an improvement? What if I swap this for that and see what

happens?

Combine What materials, features, processes, people, products or components can combine? Where can I build synergy?

Adapt What part of the product could I change?

Modify/distort What happens if I warp or exaggerate a feature or component? What will happen if I modify the process in some way?

Put to other purposes What other market could I use this product in? Who or what else might be able to use it?

Eliminate What would happen if I removed a component or part of it?

Rearrange/reverse What if I did it the other way round? What if I reverse the order it is done or the way it is used? How would I achieve the opposite effect?

Image: jscreationzs / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Techniques for generating ideasSCAMPER

How to use:

• Expose the problem;

• Expose the SCAMPER;

• Define the strategy; all operators or a group or subgroups?

• Develop questions for each operator; these questions must be

suitable to the problem in discussion.