SCAMPER is a thinking technique that allows for the generation of ideas by considering ways that might improve and change existing products or
services. The mnemonic SCAMPER stands for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, and Reverse. Alex Osborn, who also developed brainstorming, developed many of the questions that are used in this technique; however, it was Bob Eberle, an educational administrator, who actually developed these questions into the SCAMPER mnemonic. For this technique, you start off by considering a certain existing product or service that you want to improve, that you’re having problems with or that you think that has potential for further development. You can also apply SCAMPER to any of your ideas in order to develop them further. Each one of the SCAMPER words has a set of questions associated with it that you can ask yourself and answer in order to develop ideas.
For Substitute, some example questions would be, “What materials or resources can you substitute in order to improve the product?” or “Can this product be used somewhere else or in a different way?” For example, using tofu instead of meat would be a method of substitution in order to create a vegetarian hot dog. The next element to consider is the idea of Combining, and some questions you can ask yourself are “What could you combine in order to maximize the uses of the product?” or “How can you combine this product with another one in order create something new and possibly even better?” An example of this could be a musical greeting card, through which music and the conventional card are combined in order to come up with something innovative and creative. Next is the idea of Adaptation and two questions you could ask are “What else is like this product?” and “What
other contexts could this product be put into?” An example of this would be snow tires, which are regular tires that have been adapted in order to fit a certain environment. Modify is about how the product could be changed, and some sample questions include “What could you add to modify the
product?” or “How could you change the shape or look of the product in order to improve it?” Miniature Snickers are a good example of taking something in its normal form and changing its size to create something new and innovative. Put to another use refers to the idea of how your product or service can be used differently or by different people or a new setting. For example, a newspaper is not for reading only and could also be used as interesting wrapping paper for presents. Eliminate is all about streamlining the product and those elements that can be removed in order to maximize its effectiveness and efficiency. An example of this is the cordless telephone, which is much more practical and functional than its plugged in counterpart.
Reverse is all about thinking in the opposite direction of what you’re used to.
You can ask yourself “What if you did the exact opposite of what you’re trying to currently do?” and “How could you reorganize this product?”
The SCAMPER tool will allow you to develop ideas, concepts, new products and services by asking yourself important questions and leading your mind in different but specific directions. Some of the ideas you generate using the SCAMPER tool may not be feasible or may be
completely impractical, but that is okay. Just like with any other thinking technique, it is important not to judge your ideas but rather to allow your mind to roam free in order to think of as many ideas as possible.
Methods of Analysis
Several different ways to analyze a problem exist, and each way allows thinkers to generate ideas. Attribute Listing involves writing out all the
properties, qualities or design elements of the product or service that you are examining or trying to improve. For example, you are taking on the task of improving pizza at a pizzeria or a food manufacturer. Many properties and elements go into making a pizza what it is, including the shape, size, sauce, topping, the type of cheese and the actual experience of eating it. Again, this list could go on and on, but the point is that it allows you to break down a broad object into more specific elements that are easier to manipulate and improve. Once you have this list, you can alter any one of these attributes in order to improve the overall product.
Morphological Analysis is a method developed by Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky that is similar to attribute listing, but its aim is to create new products by combining different attributes. With this method, for example, you would make a list of the materials that can be used to make the product, the shape it could be, the size it could be, etc., and then make different combinations of those elements in order to come up with the best possible solution.
Morphological analysis is often used in combination with the so-called morphological box, a tool that allows you to collect and analyze
multidimensional aspect such as attributes, lists, options, variations and items in a visual matrix, chart or table. The morphological box can be used during the morphological analysis.
Matrix Analysis is exactly like morphological analysis except that it is applied to business practices. So instead of listing the physical attributes, you would examine market sectors, customer needs or promotional methods and
then make different combinations of these elements in order to come up with the best possible solution.
10 Steps to boosting Your Creativity
1. Read, listen or view the creations of creative people.
2. Brainstorm regularly, whether you do it alone or in group settings.
3. Always carry a notebook and a pen in case a great idea pops into your head.
4. If you’re stuck on a problem, open up a dictionary and select a random word and then randomly combine words in order to help your mind move into new unexplored directions.
5. Make sure you define your problem since this will make it much easier to come up with ideas and solutions.
6. Take a walk or a shower.
7. If you are looking for relaxation, consider taking a walk, listening to relaxing music or observing natural beauty (e.g., ocean, sea, mountain or trees) while contemplating. If you want to activate your creative thinking consider reading books, solving puzzles and engaging in creative activities that stimulate your mind. Create your own entertainment.
8. Do something new every day that you have not done yet (e.g. eat new food, dress differently, drive a different route to work, take a different mode of transportation, introduce yourself to a stranger).
9. Read, read, read.
10. Exercise your brain by doodling, writing, solving puzzles, debating or doing anything that allows you to form new mental connections, and by completing the exercises below and throughout the different chapters.
EXERCISES
Know Your Audience
Invent a product that every teenager in America would buy.
Credited to an advertisement run by J Walter Thompson in the New York Times in 1989.
Coffeehouse Exercise: Day Two
Go back to your favorite coffee shop (or other public place), and spend one hour observing a person.
Describe the person. This time describe only his/her inner life.
The coffeehouse exercise is credited to Shelley Berc and Alejandro Fogel’s, The Creativity Workshop, New York http://www.creativityworkshop.com/
Quick Mental Exercise
Based on your personal experience, can you remember a meeting during which someone mentioned some facts or possibly something negative, and another group member responded with emotion positive or negative?
You Are a Cartoon/Comic Author
Buy a local Sunday newspaper and go to the cartoon/comic section. Pick a cartoon/comic and white out the text in the word balloons. Now write your own copy for the cartoon/comic of your choice.
New Love Symbol
For centuries, the heart has represented love. But love has changed. Develop a new symbol.
The “new love symbol” exercise is credited to an advertisement run by J Walter Thompson in the New York Times in 1989.
CHAPTER SIX