Professional Reference Shelf

Topics

  1. Overall Scheme of the Brainstorming Process
  2. Vertical and Lateral Thinking
  3. Futuring
  4. Analogy and Cross-Fertilization
  5. TRIZ

Overall Scheme of the Brainstorming Process top

The overall scheme of the brainstorming process is shown below.

We begin with free association. It is followed by vertical thinking using Osborn's checklist, which reviews and builds on and expands the initial list of ideas. We then move to lateral thinking using random stimulation and other people's views. Finally, we engage in futuring, analogy and cross-fertilization, and TRIZ.


Typically, the initial stages of idea generation begin with an unstructured free association of ideas to solve the problem (brainstorming). During this activity, the group creates lists of all possible solutions. These lists should include wild solutions or unusual solutions without any regard to their feasibility.


Vertical and Lateral Thinking top

Vertical thinking can build on the ideas already generated (piggybacking) or it can look at the different parts of the problem in an effort to generate new ideas. One of the vertical thinking techniques is Osborn's checklist.

Edward de Bono developed the lateral thinking techniques of random stimulation and using other people's views to generate ideas during brainstorming. Lateral thinking provides two different ways to come at the problem direction and get "unstuck." It ensures that ideas are generated that never would be generated by free association or vertical thinking.

Basketball Brainstorming Exercises top

Problem Statement

How could the rules of basketball be changed so that players under 5'9" tall might be more competitive?

Ideas Generated from Free Association

•Lower the height of the basket. •Taller players are not allowed outside the key.
•Two separate baskets. •3-point shot line closer for shorter players
•Platform tennis shoes. •Tall players can guard only tall players.
•Tall players can't block. •Tall players have to wear weighted shoes.
•Tall players can't rebound. •Short players can use trampolines.
•Tall players can't dribble •Tall players must use a heavier ball.
•Tall players can't jump. •Make tall players run (winded) before game.
•No fouls on short players •Tall players wear uniforms with itching powder.
•Tall players can't look at the basket •Allow players to pick other players up
•Tall players can't use the backboard. •Short players wear spikes
•Play in zero gravity. •Tall players must carry a small child on their backs
•Some players on each team under 5'9". •Tall players wear glasses restricting peripheral vision
•Short players' baskets count more. •Short and tall teams: Short teams have more players.

Ideas Generated from Osborn's Vertical Thinking

Adapt? Smaller players can foul as many times as they want (rule adaptation). Assists by smaller players count as points.
Modify? Raise baskets for taller players (modify court). Tall players stay inside 3 point line.
Magnify? Short player's baskets worth 4 points (magnify score).
Minify? Tall player's shots worth 1 point (minify score).
Rearrange? Separate leagues for taller and shorter players (rearrange grouping).

Ideas Generated from deBono Lateral Thinking

A. Example of Random Stimulation

Random word or concept:

Humbug - What ideas come to mind?

Humbug → Scrooge → mean → rough → more relaxed foul rules for short player.

Jealous → rage → short players may taunt tall players to distract them.

B. Example of Other People's Views

Owners: They like to win and fill the arena with fans. Game must be exciting. It must have some advantages for the coaches to want to have shorter players. Maybe consider a maximum cumulative height for the team, so that teams with very small players can have more very tall players, and a better chance of winning.
Fans: They like fast, exciting games with good ball handling, shooting, and slam dunks. Maybe we do need to lower the basket.
Short Players: Want big bucks and to play in the pros.
Tall Players: Don't want the game changed.



The Case of the Putrid Pond top


Other People's Views: Space Capsule top

Problem: Space capsule burns upon entering the atmosphere



Project Manager: Complete the project on time.

NASA Accountant: Solve problem, but keep costs low.

Engineer: New Material should not interfere with capsule performance

Material Scientist: Find a material that can handle the high temperature on re-entry.

Astronaut: Doesn't care about the capsule. Wants to return alive.

Final Solution: Allow the surface of the capsule to be destroyed, protecting the astrunauts.


Futuring top

Futuring is a blockbusting technique that focuses on generating solutions that currently may not be technically feasible but might become practical in the future. In futuring, we ask questions such as "What are the characteristics of an ideal solution?" and "What currently existing problem would make our jobs easier when solved, or would solve many subsequent problems, or would make a major difference in the way we do business?"

Futuring in Action: Useful Products from Cheese Waste top

The waste products from cheese and yogurt plants are quite acidic, so they cannot be discharged directly into lakes or rivers. Instead, these wastes must be treated so that they can be safely discharged from the plant. One suggestion is to build a waste treatment facility that will neutralize the acid and kill the bacteria in the waste. It is important to keep both the cost of the treatment materials and the capital cost of the facility at a minimum so that we do not severely erode the profits of the yogurt and cheese making. Let's try an exercise in futuring.

Let's imagine ourselves in the future, with a booming yogurt and cheese-making business. Why is our plant doing so well? It is highly successful because there are no wasted materials in our operation. All of the waste streams that might potentially damage our environment are being put to good use. What are we using them for? The main waste stream contains sugar and protein. What could we be using those materials for? Protein is an essential dietary requirement. We could separate out the protein and use it for human consumption (food additives) or animal feed supplements (more likely). What about the sugar? Could we sell it to someone as a raw material for another process? What kind of process? Sugars can be fermented, can't they? Perhaps we could use the sugar to produce ethanol for a profit. What's left after removing the protein and the sugar? Could this material be landfill? Landfilling is placing the material in the ground - could we place it in the ground for a profit? What about placing the leftover material on the surface of the ground? Could it be used as a fertilizer? Or as a biodegradable de-icing product for use on the roads? (Note: The de-icing idea is already being used in some cities.)


SUMMARY

Define the Real Problem: The problem is not how to treat the waste but more generally what to do with it.

Imagine the Future: The plant is profitable and has no adverse environmental impact.

Generate Solutions: Our success due to the fact that we have no waste production. All of our plant's byproducts are recycled or sold.

Analogy and Cross-Fertilization top

Generating ideas by analogy is an approach that works quite well for many individuals. With this strategy, we look for analogous situations and problems in both related and unrelated areas. To use this technique effectively, of course, it is important that you read and learn about things outside your area of expertise.

To practice generating ideas by cross-fertilization, you might ask what each of the following pairs would learn if they went to lunch or dinner together that would improve themselves and/or the way they perform their jobs.

Shockblocker Shoes top

Consider the Shockblockers Shoes developed by the U.S. Shoe Corporation (Washington Post, p. A47, December 18, 1992). This company wanted to develop shoes that would absorb the shocks associated with walking. It looked around to find out what other paraphernalia were used to protect the body from external contact. Ultimately, the company's research and development team studied the materials used inside a professional football helmet. The U.S. Shoe Corporation eventually decided to include the same shock-absorbing foam in the soles of its new line of "Shockblocker" shoes.


A Cold Winter's Day top

A large office building in the city is not as energy efficient as the building's owners would like. To keep their heating bills down, the building is kept colder than the occupants prefer, and many complaints have been received.

Step 1. State the Problem. (What is the situation?) The occupants of building are too cold. Utilities bills are too high. Too many complaints are being received.

Step 2. Generate Analogies. (What else is like this situation?) Generate as many possibilities as you can, then choose one to work with: Being cold in the office is like...

Step 3. Solve the Analogy. When you are too cold on a camping trip, you build a campfire, which serves as a source of both heat and light.

Step 4. Transfer the Solution to the Problem. Instead of building a campfire in the office, rent or buy portable space heaters. Use a readily available source of heat and light to solve the building's energy problems. Install a heat recovery system to recover waste heat from the fluorescent lights to warm the offices and improve the energy efficiency. (Note: This practice is used in modern energy-efficient office buildings.)

Dinner at Antoine's top

Let's consider a dinner meeting between a beautician and a college professor. The beautician could provide the professor with tips on the importance of having and maintaining an attractive physical appearance. Beauticians are typically good conversationalists and listeners, so the beautician could also share these skills to help the professor establish a more effective rapport with the students. Thanks to these insights, the professor would be better able to understand and respond to student concerns and problems. The professor might also pick up some tips on managing a small business, which would be helpful in organizing and managing a research group.

College professors, by contrast, are usually involved in research and keep up-to-date on the latest developments in their chosen fields. The beautician could benefit from a discussion of these topics and be encouraged to obtain the newest beauty information and perhaps experiment with some new ideas. For example, new chemical/color treatments could be studied or explored using discarded hair samples. The beautician could learn how to carry out an experiment by treating samples of hair with a new curling product for varying lengths of time to determine the optimal treatment procedure for different types of hair.


TRIZ top

TRIZ, which stands for "Teoriya Resheniya Izobreatatelskikh Zadatch" and is Russian for "Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TIPS)," is the brainchild of Russian engineer and scientist Genrich Altshuller.

The TRIZ process recognizes that technical systems evolve so as to increase ideality by overcoming contradictions mostly with minimal introduction of resources. Thus, for creative problem solving, TRIZ provides a dialectic way of thinking-that is, it seeks to understand the problem as a system, to imagine the ideal solution first, and to resolve contradictions.

Example Application of TRIZ: A New Structural Material for Bulletproof Garments top

Below are links to TRIZ website resources that will help in solving the following problem:

"Think TRIZ for Creative Problem Solving" from Quality Digest (2003) by Ellen Domb

TRIZ website
(http://www.triz-journal.com/archives/1998/11/d/default.asp)

http://www.triz40.com

Problem Statement

Bulletproof vests should be strong, but not heavy.

Step 1. Identify the Contradiction(s)
  Strength (improves) versus weight (worsens)

Step 2. Look at the List of Features and Identify Those Important to Your Contradiction

  Strength: Feature 14
  Weight: Feature 2

Step 3. Identify Which Are Improving Features and Which Are Worsening Features   Strength (feature 14) improves; weight (feature 2) worsens

Step 4. Refer to the TRIZ Contradiction Matrix to Learn Which of Altshuller's Principles May Be Useful for the Problem

Row 14 (strength) and column 2 (weight) of the contradiction matrix indicate the following principles may be useful: 40, 26, 27, 1 (See TRIZ Matrix on web link provided at the beginning of the problem statement). We now look at the principles list to learn that these numbers correspond to

40. Composite materials
26. Copying
27. Cheap short-living
1. Segmentation
Next, we brainstorm how we could use these four principles to solve our problem.

40. Composite materials

The explanation of this principle from the TRIZ Web site is
-Change from uniform to composite (multiple) materials such as reinforced polymers.

For lighter-weight, stronger vests, the use of composites is an active area of research. Polymers (Kevlar) reinforced with carbon nanofibers are currently being investigated as a strong, lightweight alternative to steel for structural materials.

26. Copying

The explanation of this principle from the TRIZ website is:

-Instead of an unavailable, expensive, fragile object, use simpler and inexpensive copies.
-Replace an object or process with optical copies.
-If visible optical copies are already used, move to infrared or ultraviolet copies.

We could copy the design of abbreviated SCUBA diving wet suits for use as bulletproof garments.

27. Cheap short-living objects

The explanation of this principle from the TRIZ Web site is:

-Replace an inexpensive object with a multiple of inexpensive objects, comprising certain qualities (such as service life, for instance).

This principle does not appear to be readily applicable to this problem. This is not necessarily unusual, because Altshuller's principles are merely general suggestions intended to help us focus our thinking in areas that have proven fruitful in previous problems.

1. Segmentation

The explanation of this principle from the TRIZ Web site is:

-Divide an object into independent parts.
-Make an object easy to disassemble (replace worn or damaged parts).
-Increase the degree of fragmentation or segmentation.

Perhaps we could consider several different coverings for different parts of the body (e.g., pants, vest) rather than a one-piece suit. Perhaps we could use different materials to cover the critical areas such as chest and head, each of which takes advantage of specific properties that would be customized for its particular application.

Thus, by identifying problem contradictions, we can use the TRIZ process to help us reach a solution. In this case, we were able to generate two additional ideas using the TRIZ method.