Module 2 second assignment experience regarding generating ideas
March 14, 2019I find working with generating ideas work really well when you have some kind of framework as a starting point for the creative process. We have used a variety of techniques on generating ideas such as SCAMPER that stands for:
- Substitute.
- Combine.
- Adapt.
- Modify.
- Put to another use.
- Eliminate.
- Reverse.
We have put this method in to use when we want to generate different kind of ideas around a new product or service och solution to a problem. We also used De Bonos 6 thinking hats, associations, combination techniques etc. I find that the different tools works well in various settings.
Regarding the topic that we were supposed to generate ideas around was something that I can relate to. The topic is very current and there is a clear sense of urgency to handle the challenge of getting affected in bad ways by social media etc. That made the topic easier to generate ideas around since I can relate and use my knowledge and previous experience to relate to the problem/issue. What I tried to do was to combine various ideas and solutions to the specific problem in order to widen my perspective and then narrow it down again and prioritize in order to find something that could actually work as an idea formulation. So in short I believe that the topic enabled me to utilize my creativity in a good way. If it would be a topic totally out of my area of interest or I wouldn’t be able to relate to the problem, the creative process would probably take longer in order to generate any ideas…
2 responses to “Module 2 second assignment experience regarding generating ideas”
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Thank you for sharing! From your experience, do you find some methods better than others? Or is it more about the context of the idea generation that should steer which method to use?
Well, I believe it depends on the setting and context and also the type of group that I am working with. Some teams and people are more traditional and stuck-in in a “creative averse” mindset and then you have to be a bit careful with what creative approach/method you use… Other teams are used to think in a creative manner and have no problems with trying out various methods. Also the specific scope of the idea could sometimes decide what tool/method is applicable.
What I have realized works really good in most settings is to work with one of the features of Scamper namely the C – Combinations. Working with combining ideas and perspectives, sometimes introducing triggers in order to widen the creative horizon usually works really good. Take two ideas and put them together and see what kind of new ideas will be born/generated. Or take an idea and just find new interesting intersections (inspired by the classical book The Medici Effect) between different perspectives and ideas.