Our Second Task was to learn about three idea generation tools so that we could coach other group members as to how to use this tool. One of the tools that our group used was Random word I will try to give some information about this tool.

Random Word Technique When to use it Use it to stimulate open and divergent thinking and seek creative new ideas. Use it to re-ignite creative thinking when you are running out of ideas. Use it to get people out of a rut when their thinking is still rather conventional. Quick X  Long Logical X  Psychological Individual X  Group How to use it 1. Find a random word Find a random word that will be used as a stimulus for new ideas. You can do this in a number of ways, including: Look around you. What can you see? Can you see any words? What about things? What else is happening? Open a book at a random page. Run your finger around the page and stop at a random point. Look for a suitable word near your finger. Ask the people you are with to give you a random word. Select a word from a prepared list of evocative words (fire, child, brick, sausage, etc.) Good random words are (a) evocative and (b) nothing to do with the problem being considered. Ambiguity also helps. Nouns are usually best, but verbs and adjectives can also be used effectively. 2. Find associations Think about other things about which the word reminds you. Follow associations to see where they go. Think openly: associations can be vague and tenuous (this is creativity, not an exam!). When working with a group of people, you can write these down on a flipchart as people call them out. It can be useful (but not necessary) to leave a space after each associate for use in stage 3. 3. Use the associations to create new ideas Now create new ideas by linking any of the associations with your problem. Again, the linkage can be as vague as you like: what you want is ideas! Write the ideas either next to their associations from step 2 or on a separate page. If other people give ideas that trigger further ideas from you, then you can go off down that route to see where it goes. As a variant, you can do stages 2 and 3 together, finding an association and an immediate idea from this. Example I am seeking a way to reduce discomfort for passengers on trains. With a group of passengers, we look out of the window and see a school. Associations from school are learning, bullying, exams, playtime. Ideas include teaching the rail company how uncomfortable the seats are, taking a firm stance in this, giving marks for different trains and seats and having games on trains so passengers do not notice the uncomfortable seats. How it works Random Words works in particular by making you go elsewhere for ideas, and hence pushes you out of your current thinking rut. It uses the principle of forced association to make you think in new ways and create very different ideas.

Reference: http://www.creatingminds.org/tools/random_words.htm

Edward

The second Tool is Lotus Bloosom

Lotus Blossom When to use it Use it when you want to develop creative ideas. Use it when you are having problems creating more ideas. Use it when you are trapped by a single mode of thinking. Use it to create seeds of ideas that can trigger further good ideas. Quick X  Long Logical X  Psychological Individual X  Group How to use it Describe the problem Start with a description of the problem you are facing. Write it on a card or Post-it Note and put in in the middle of a large working area. If you are working in a group, this works well with a vertical work area, such as a wall or large pin-board. You can also use the floor or a large table top. Surround it with ideas Use other tools for creating ideas to create a set of ideas on how to solve the problem. These should be as different from one another as possible. Write each idea on a card or Post-it Note of its own and place it around the problem description. Eight ideas fit neatly, as below. You can also do six, in a hexagonal shape. In placing the ideas around the original problem, you can put them down in a 'knight's pattern'. This helps mix up the ideas and generate more different thinking. When you are working in a group of people, engage everyone. Perhaps they could each create a different idea. Idea 6 Idea 1 Idea 4 Idea 3 Problem Description Idea 7 Idea 8 Idea 5 Idea 2 . Unfold the lotus blossom Make a copy of each of the idea cards and place them radially further out from the cluster (the stamen and pistil of the flower) that you created in the previous steps. Now repeat the previous step of the process, surrounding each of the copied idea cards with secondary ideas, using only the copied idea cards as stimuli. This should result in ideas which are further removed from the original problem. This can lead to many ideas, as in the diagram below. You do not have to fill in every space - if ideas run out, you can move on. Also, if an idea seems to be leading somewhere, you can repeat the whole process ad infinitum until you get somewhere or nowhere. When you are working in a group of people, you can rotate them around the lotus. Thus a person puts one secondary idea against a copied idea and then moves on to the next copied idea. This creates a dance around the ideas, moving the thinking on at each step. Idea 6.6 Idea 6.1 Idea 6.4 Idea 6.3 Idea 6 Idea 6.7 Idea 6.8 Idea 6.5 Idea 6.2 Idea 1.6 Idea 1.1 Idea 1.4 Idea 1.3 Idea 1 Idea 1.7 Idea 1.8 Idea 1.5 Idea 1.2 Idea 4.6 Idea 4.1 Idea 4.4 Idea 4.3 Idea 4 Idea 4.7 Idea 4.8 Idea 4.5 Idea 4.2 Idea 3.6 Idea 3.1 Idea 3.4 Idea 3.3 Idea 3 Idea 3.7 Idea 3.8 Idea 3.5 Idea 3.2 Idea 6 Idea 1 Idea 4 Idea 3 Prob- lem Idea 7 Idea 8 Idea 5 Idea 2 Idea 7.6 Idea 7.1 Idea 7.4 Idea 7.3 Idea 7 Idea 7.7 Idea 7.8 Idea 7.5 Idea 7.2 Idea 8.6 Idea 8.1 Idea 8.4 Idea 8.3 Idea 8 Idea 8.7 Idea 8.8 Idea 8.5 Idea 8.2 Idea 5.6 Idea 5.1 Idea 5.4 Idea 5.3 Idea 5 Idea 5.7 Idea 5.8 Idea 5.5 Idea 5.2 Idea 2.6 Idea 2.1 Idea 2.4 Idea 2.3 Idea 2 Idea 2.7 Idea 2.8 Idea 2.5 Idea 2.2 Seek practical answers to the problem Look around the many ideas you now have and seek to link some of these back to the original problem, using them as stimuli for more practical solutions that may be implemented. Example I have a problem of how to keep water from seeping around the edge of the bath. I surround this with ideas such as 'Silicon seal' and 'Move the bath'. These seem a bit tame, so I unfold the lotus by surrounding these further. For 'silicon seal', I come up with 'greasy fish', 'squeezed blubber' and 'rubber coat'. Bringing 'rubber coat' back to the original problem, I coat both the bath and the wall with a silicon layer, such that simply pushing the bath up against the wall forms an automatic seal. How it works The Lotus Blossom works to stretch thinking away from the rut that can surround the original problem by using ideas as triggers for further thinking, thus asking you to move further way from the problem than you might otherwise go.

Edward

Collection of Creativity and Innovation Tools

One of the assignments for the next class was to find innovation tools that could be used in class to facilitate the idea generation. As I was looking for such tools online, I found this great collection of innovation tools that I wanted to present in the following video.

As I mentioned in the video, I picked Lotus Blossom Technique as a tool I could present for other groups on the next working day. In case I will be the one facilitating the idea generation with my tool, I will tell you how it worked in my next post.

Elina