Brainstorming is Blockbusting

1
Brainstorming is Blockbusting

• DR. AA
• FKKKSA, UTM

2
Brainstorming

• What is brainstorming?
• Brainstorming is an unrestricted, unstructured
  free flow of ideas intended to solve a problem.
• Lists of all possible ideas are generated.
• List should include wild or unusual solutions
  without regard to their feasibility.
• No negative judgments are allowed during this
  stage.

3
Comments That Reduce Brainstorming to
Braindrizzling

• That wont work
• Thats too radical
• Its not our job
• Thats too much hassle

• Its against our policy
• We havent done that way before
• Thats too expensive
• We cant solve this problem

4
After the initial free association brainstorming
session, the process often hits a roadblock.
Free Association (Unstructured Idea Generation)
Osborn's Checklist
Random Stimulation
Related Ideas
Unrelated Ideas
Futuring
Other Peoples views
Lateral Thinking
Vertical Thinking
5
Brainstorming Random Stimulation

• Random stimulation makes use of a random piece of
  information such as a word culled from the
  dictionary.
• The word is used as a trigger or switch to change
  the patterns of thought when a mental roadblock
  occurs.

6
Brainstorming Osborns Checklist for Adding New
Ideas
Adapt? ........How can this (product, idea, plan,
etc.) be used as is? What are other uses it could
be adapted to? Modify? ......Change the meaning,
material, color, shape, odor, etc.? Magnify?
.....Add new ingredient? Make longer, stronger,
thicker, higher, etc.? Minify? ........Split up?
Take something out? Make lighter, lower, shorter,
etc.? Substitute? .. Who else, where else, or
what else? Other ingredient, material, or
approach? Rearrange? ..Interchange parts? Other
patterns, layouts? Transpose cause and effect?
Change positives to negatives? Reverse roles?
Turn it backwards or upside down? Sort? Combine?
....Combine parts, units, ideas? Blend?
Compromise? Combine from different categories?
7
Brainstorming Other Peoples View
The inability to see the problem from various
view points can be quite limiting.

• Example Automotive engineers must be aware of
  many viewpoints to design a successful vehicle.
  They must consider
• consumers
• marketing personnel
• management
• safety department
• financial people
• service personnel

8
Brainstorming Futuring

• Try to imagine yourself in the future with the
  ideal solution . . . .
• (forget about technical feasibility)
• Remember
• In the future, anything is possible.
• Dare to change the rules.
• Best solutions are sometimes contrary to
  conventional wisdom.

9
Brainstorming - INCUBATING IDEAS
..sleep on it

• Do not take the first idea and run with it.
• Allow for a period of mental incubation.
• What to do when stuck on a problem
• try new techniques after a period of
  digestion
• go home and think..
• let it sit overnight
• put the problem down and do something else for
  a while

10
Class Example 1
Suggest safe playground equipment that could be
made from old cars.
11
Osborns Checklist for Adding New Ideas
Adapt? .......... How can this (product, idea,
plan, etc.) be used as is? What are other uses it
could be adapted to? Modify? ........Change the
meaning, material, color, shape, odor,
etc.? Magnify? ......Add new ingredient? Make
longer, stronger, thicker, higher, etc.? Minify?
........ Split up? Take something out? Make
lighter, lower, shorter, etc.? Substitute? ...
Who else, where else, or what else? Other
ingredient, material, or approach? Rearrange?
.... Interchange parts? Other patterns, layouts?
Transpose cause and effect? Change positives to
negatives? Reverse roles? Turn it backwards or
upside down? Sort? Combine? ......Combine parts,
units, ideas? Blend? Compromise? Combine from
different categories?
12
Class Example 1 Osborns Checklist
Substitute use the cars seats in swings
Combine use the side panels and roofs to make a
huge canopy or fort.
13
Class Example 1 Osborns Checklist
Modify remove the engine and side panels and
make go-carts.
Adapt take the hood off and use it as a
toboggan in winter.
14
Class Example 1 Osborns Checklist
Magnify over inflate the inner tubes from the
tires and use them to create a romper room /
jumping pit.
Minify crush the cars into cubes and allow the
kids to climb on the blocks.
15
Class Example 1 Random Stimulation
all, albatross, airplane, air, animals, bag,
basketball, bean, bee, bear, bump, bed, car,
cannon, cap, control, cape, custard pie, dawn,
deer, defense, dig, dive, dump, dumpster, ear,
eavesdrop, evolution, eve, fawn, fix, find,
fungus, food, ghost, graph, gulp, gum, hot, halo,
hope, hammer, humbug, head, high, ice, icon, ill,
jealous, jump, jig, jive, jinx, key, knife,
kitchen, lump, lie, loan, live, Latvia, man, mop,
market, make, maim, mane, notice, needle, new,
next, nice, open, Oscar, opera, office, pen,
powder, pump, Plato, pigeons, pocket, quick,
quack, quiet, rage, rash, run, rigid, radar,
Scrooge, stop, stove, save, saloon, sandwich,
ski, simple, safe, sauce, sand, sphere, tea,
time, ticket, treadmill, up, uneven, upside-down,
vice, victor, vindicate, volume, violin, voice,
wreak, witch, wide, wedge, x-ray, yearn, year,
yazzle, zone, zoo, zip, zap
16
Class Example 1 Random Stimulation
PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT FROM OLD CARS Word DOCUMENT
DOCUMENT
17
Class Example 1 Other Peoples View

• Think about walking around on your knees how
  would this change your perspective--that is,
  imagine the playground from a childs height.
• What was your favorite playground toy? How could
  this be mimicked with used auto parts?

18
Class Example 1 Other Peoples View

• Example From a childs viewpoint, the intact car
  would be an exciting change to pretend to be a
  grown-up. Just take off the doors and remove
  other equipment (electrical, etc.) and let the
  kids pretend to drive. Just leave the car as it
  is!

19
Alternative Brainstorming Techniques

• SCAMPER system
• Ssubstitute
• Ccombine
• Aadapt
• Mmodify
• Pput to another use
• Eeliminate
• Rreverse

20
Alternative TechniqueDeBonos Six Thinking Hat
Negative
Positive
Emotions
Facts Details
Reflection Interesting points
Imagination
21
Alternative TechniqueRoger von Oech Creative
Thinking

• Explorer
• Artist
• Judge
• Warrior

22
Explorer

• Provides the Raw Materials from which new ideas
  are made
• Facts, concepts, experience, knowledge, feelings,
  etc.
• Dares to go where no one has gone before
• Using only safe routes is not exploration
• Need to look in uncharted territory
• Need to wander how it all fits in
• Need to feel a little lost
• Need to pay attention to unusual patterns
• Need to use different senses

23
Artist

• Takes the raw material and makes something new
  from it
• experiment with variety of approaches
• Ask what if questions
• Break the rules or create new ones

24
Judge

• Evaluate and critically weigh the evidence
• Look for drawbacks
• Wonder if it will work
• Question your assumptions
• Listen to your gut
• Make a Decision!

25
Warrior

• Implement your Idea!
• Take the Idea into Action!
• Be offensive!
• Need to develop a strategy
• Be flexible enough to change it
• Commit yourself to reaching your objective
• Overcome
• Excuses, idea killers, temporary setbacks, other
  obstacles
• Need to have the courage to do what is necessary

26
Review

• Your Explorer is your role for searching for new
  information and resources
• Your Artist is your role for turning those
  resources into new ideas
• Your Judge is your role for evaluating the merits
  of an idea and deciding what to do with it and
• Your Warrior is your role for carrying your idea
  into action.

27
Creative Process

• Linear Progression??
• Likely you will use Explorer role in earlier
  stages,
• Artist and Judge in the middle stage
• Warrior in the later stages
• But, there should be a fair amount of shifting
  around

28
Timing is Everything

• Knowing when to use your roles is vitally
  important to your success. For example
• Using your judge when you need to explore
• Using your artist to implement your idea
• Need to Shift to Roles when it is Necessary

29
Getting Stuck in a Role

• Explorer Never get around to making sense of
  ideas
• Artist Spend all your time working and
  re-working your creation not letting go
• Judge Inhibit your artist and spend so much time
  evaluating that you never make a decision
• Warrior Rush into action whether you are ready
  or not

30
Organising Ideas using Fishbone Diagram

• DR. AA
• FKKKSA, UTM

31
Fishbone Diagram (Playground Example)

• Painting
• Let Kids paint graffiti on cars
• Paint targets and use to throw balls at
• Paint as covered wagon--play cowboys
• Whole Car
• Teeter totter (upside down)
• Go-Cart
• Crush and make blocks
• Drive as is
• Open doors and use as goals for field hockey
• Parts
• seats-swings
• Roof / doors--fort
• Tires--jump on
• Hood--toboggan
• Springs for wobble ride

32
Fishbone Diagram (Playground Example)
33
Example Poor Gas Mileage
34
The End