D2.5 SCAMPERR Activity

Introduction

A useful activity is to combine the idea of a Mind Map with a SCAMMPERR Activity to generate a large number of ideas.

• Substitute - Can we use something else in place of this product,object, or process? Surgeons now routinely use such fasteners as staples and adhesives to close incisions in place of stitches.
• Combine - Can we combine anything to give us something new or interesting? Johannes Gutenberg is famous for inventing the printing press, which combined two existing technologies: the wine press and the coin punch.
• Adapt - Does someone else already have an answer that we can adapt to our situation? This is the essence of Benchmarking (Chapter 6). Examples abound, including Granite Rock adapting the concept of the ATM to move customers into and out of its rock quarries ore quickly and efficiently.
• Magnify or add to it - Can we make it larger, add to it or extend it somehow? The "Superstore" concept has led to stores like Home Depot and Office Max becoming "category killers" in their respective retail markets.
• Modify it Can we change or modify it in some way? Marlboro cigarettes were originally targeted to women, but did not sell. An ad campaign was developed that modified this approach, using cowboys to sell the cigarettes. This  became one of the most famous and successful ad campaigns ever.
• Put it to some other use - How else could our product or process be used? Does it solve some other problem? Customers are still finding new and creative ways to use products like Post-it Notes and WD-40.
• Eliminate something - Can we remove or eliminate something to solve our problem? A famous story holds that a truck was stuck in an overpass. Police and fire personnel could not free it, until an 8-year old standing by suggested they remove some air from the truck's tires.
• Rearrange it - Would rearranging the current order or sequence help? Toyota's famous Just-in-Time production system was not possible when die exchanges took hours or longer. By rearranging key steps in the process, they learned to change any die in 10 minutes or less.
• Reverse it What if we reversed it? Did the exact opposite? In the movie Apollo 13, they did not have enough amperage to complete the power up procedure. The astronaut working in the simulator suggested reversing the current from one battery before switching it off.

Procedure

1. On a large sheet write your current problem statement in the center.
2. Attach your best 3-5 concept sketches an the sheet as "Major Ideas".
3. Using the idea of SCAMMPERR brainstorming, create small changes in each design.
4. Using this process you can very quickly turn your 3-5 designs into 30-50 iterations.
5. At the end of this process recapture your best 3-5 designs.