Filed under Living on October 9th, 2008:
If you Need New Ideas, just SCAMPER
So often in business we are so busy we just race to get through our daily agenda and seldom take the time to brainstorm or even really think about what we are doing. If you take some time to engage your brain and re-think the way you do things, you often come up with brilliant ideas.
The SCAMPER technique was invented as a way to help us improve our processes or problems. It works by encouraging you to ask yourself questions and come up with new business ideas. It’s a great method to start brainstorming, lateral thinking and problem solving rolling.
Would you Like to SCAMPER?
S – Substitute
Think about your product or process. Is there something you can substitute or simplify to make an improvement? What would happen if you swapped out the place, time, materials or people?
C – Combine
Would you come up with a different product or process if you combined two or more parts of your problem? Where can you build synergy by combining materials, people, processes or components?
A- Adapt
Could you adapt part of the product or process to solve the problem or change the nature of the product/process? What could be changed?
M – Modify
Consider changing or distorting the current situation in an unusual way. What would happen if you exaggerated a feature or process?
P – Put to Other Purposes
Could you use your current process or product for other purposes? Could you reuse something you already have to solve another problem or break into another market?
E – Eliminate
Is there a different way to tackle the problem by eliminating part of the process or product? What would happen if you removed part of it? Are there other ways to achieve your solution?
R – Reverse
In order to see your problem from different angles, try reversing or rearranging the problem or process. How would it work if you did it the other way around?
More Brainstorming Information
You can find out more about the SCAMPER method and other brainstorming methods by reading Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Creative-Thinking Techniques by Michael Michalko