Tools For Creativity
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Tools for creativityMay 2010
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Warning; the future is always closer than it appears
Faith Popcorn
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Why creativity is important
Globalisation and shorter product life cycles mean the old ways of doing business are no longer relevant. Innovation is vital for companies to stay ahead of competition and – in many cases – to stay in business.
The race is on to develop a new product or service that brings superior value to the customer. If you come up with a really innovative solution that leapfrogs the competition, chances are you will be more successful. Creativity plays a vital role in this process.
This paper is a practical approach to being more creative. It is not a comprehensive guide, but is intended as an introduction to a process and some tools that you can use to:-
• brainstorm ideas• push the boundaries of your thinking• help create a stronger team
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Stop before you start
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Plan before you startThe human mind is incredibly efficient. Given a problem, it immediately gets thinking about how to solve the problem without considering:-
• Am I working on the right problem?• And is this the best solution?
Better to explore the situation to understand:-
• Who are the stakeholders? What would success look like for them?• What is the root of the issue, the technical problem, the unmet need, the identified gap?• What resources do I have at my disposal to help solve the problem?
Time spent planning at this stage is never wasted, and can often save significant time and money overall.
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Frame the problem – situation analysis
�Who is the customer? (Your immediate customer, and their successive customers until you reach the end user)
�Who are the other stakeholders (use the 9 Cs tool). What are their expectations and requirements?
�What is their need/ goal/ challenge/ problem?
�What do people dislike about the current solution/ products/ service?
�What do people like about the current solution/ products/ service?
� In what way is current solution ineffective?
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Situation Analysis Tool –Ideal Final Result
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Ideal Final ResultMost innovation is incremental, and while small improvements certainly have their place, it is always worth extending the vision to identify what the ultimate result might be. This final result might not be technically or financially feasible, but it gives you a vision to aim for.
So when you are seeking new solutions, rather than using the current design as a starting point, come up with a vision for the Ideal Final Result and work back from there to a realistic option. This is also a useful activity when you are considering Intellectual Property (IP), as you can include concepts that will be future generations of the current model.
Current Situation
IdealFinal Result
Start hereDon’t start here
Intermediate solutions
X
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Ideal Final Result – questions to ask
�What is the final aim of the product?
�What is the IFR outcome?
�What is stopping you achieving this?
�Why is it stopping you achieving this?
�How could you make this disappear?
�Has anyone else solved this problem?
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Situation Analysis Tool –Resources
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ResourcesAnother useful tool at this stage is to consider what resources you have to hand that could be applied to your project.
Resources include the more obvious tangible resources, such as people and equipment. But they also include intangible resources, such as useful information or skills that your team or associates might have. A full list appears on the next page.
Another step is to consider not just the current resources you have available, but resources you had in the past that you could draw on again (e.g. a retired employee), or that you tried and didn’t work (to save going down that path again).
Finally, a useful exercise is to define your ‘system’. This might be the team, the product, your organisation, whatever makes sense. Thenconsider resources that are within your system, external to the system and in the subsystem. Carry out this exercise for tangible and then intangible resources.
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Resources�Substance – material (equipment, materials, software,
waste) within the system or system’s surrounding
�People – within and around system
�Financial - (budgets, grants, funding)
� Information – tacit and explicit knowledge, Intellectual Capital, other sources e.g. books, internet
�Energy Resources – sources of energy available within the system or system’s surrounding, which are not used fully
�Space Resources – any unused space
�Time Resources – any spare time slots in between, before or after technological processes
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Resources - examples
�Harnessing the power of UV light to stimulate cell activity in an anti-ageing skin care product
�Targets for clay pigeon shooting made of compacted manure
�Moulds for casting thermoplastic parts made in useful shapes (alphabet letters) to reduce wastage
�Snow in northern coal pit blown into pit to cool air, dampen coal dust and reduce risk of explosions
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Tangible resources
PAST FUTUREPRESENT
Around systeme.g. External
Within systeme.g. Team
Systeme.g. Company
Tangible Resources (people, materials, equipment)
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PAST FUTUREPRESENT
Around systeme.g. External
Within systeme.g. Team
Systeme.g. Company
Intangible resources
Intangible Resources (information, energy, space, time)
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Generate ideas
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Start creatingNow you can start to come up with new ideas. The best way to get good ideas is to expand your thinking, generate lots of ideas and then discard the poor ones.
Use the rules of brainstorming:-
1. Defer criticismAt this stage there are no bad ideas; don’t be negative. Judgement can come later.
2. Go for quantityIt’s simple maths – the more ideas, the greater the chance of a really good idea.
3. Go for wild ideasThe wild ideas can prove to be the most insightful. Remember the Ideal Final Result.
4. Build on ideasWhat can you add to the idea? What other ideas come to mind? How can your experience add to this?
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Problem Solving Tool –Trends of Evolution
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Problem Solving Tool – Trends of Evolution
� Based on the premise that:- All technical systems evolve in set patterns
These patterns are the same across different industries
All trends work towards the ideal solution
By understanding these patterns you can shortcut the process for generation of new ideas
� How to use Trends of Evolution:-1. Select the most relevant trends for your product/service
2. Identify where you are on the trend
3. Brainstorm for each of the trends to the right of where you are.
Adapted from TRIZ, www.triz-journal.com/
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Trend of Mono-Bi-Poly
�Other examples:- Mobile phones
Toothbrushes with tongue cleaners
Power tools with multiple attachments
Yoghurts with separate toppings
Mono System
BiSystem
TriSystem
PolySystem
Razer 2,3,4,5 bladeRazor with
aloeRazor with
hair clippers
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Trend of Increasing Use of Senses
�Touch
�Smell
�Sight
�Hearing
�Taste
1 sense 3 senses2 senses 5 senses4 senses
�Examples:- TV adverts with jingles and slogans
Videophones
Surround sound and sometimes motion and even smells in cinemas
Luxury cars – in addition to visual, the smell of new leather, sound (of engine, doors, etc), the feel of seats, steering wheel, etc
Ambulance sirens with using flashing lights as well
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Trend of Increasing Use of Colour
MonochromeUse of visible
spectrum
Binary use of colour
Full spectrum (incl. UV,
IR)
�Examples:- Warning systems
Used to differentiate range of products
Temperature sensitive paints
Using IR to achieve heat-seeking capability
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Trend of Market Evolution
�Commodities – steel, timber, generic drugs
�Products – cars, phones, washing machines
�Services – clean clothes, fast food, package holidays
�Experience – Disney, Starbucks, adventure sports
�Transformation – personal trainers
Commodity ServiceProduct Transfor-mation
Experience
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Trend of Smart Materials
Passive material
1-way adaptive
�Examples:- Photochromic lenses
Shape-memory alloys, polymers
Self-cleaning glass
Gel-filled bicycle seats
Fully adaptive
2-way adaptive
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Trend of Space Segmentation
�Examples:- Bricks
Chocolate bars
Bread
Radiators
Soles of running/training shoes
Double glazing
Solid Multiple hollows
Hollow Porous with
actives
Porous
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Trend of Surface Segmentation
Smooth surface
3D roughened
surface
Ribbedsurface
Roughened with active component
�Examples:- Raised pavement to warn of obstacle
Grips on handles, e.g. wheelbarrows
Tyres
Bioactive surface coatings
Speed bumps on road
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Trend of Increasing Asymmetry
Symmetrical system
Partial asymmetry
�Examples:- Handles on jugs
Spirals
Scissors
Long tail marketing
Matched asymmetry
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Trend of Controllability
Direct control
Addition of
feedback
Action through
intermediaryIntelligent feedback
�Examples:- Robots, e.g. vacuum cleaners
Speed signs in built-up areas
Reversing signals on cars
Auto focus cameras
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Trend of Dynamisation
Immobile Fully flexible system
Jointed system
Field-based system
Fluid or pneumatic
system
�Examples:- Folding products, e.g. umbrellas, tripods
Window blinds
Lasers
Desk lamps
Sound recording (tape to optical)
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The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.
Michelangelo
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Rowan NorrieTrue North Innovation
www.truenorthinnovationTel: +44(0)1698 389 456