Here's a cool little brainstorming technique I learned in college that some of you might find useful. To use it, you simply take an existing idea, product, or service and run it through the SCAMPER gauntlet of conceptual manipulation.
ripped from here:
Substitute
What materials or resources can you substitute or swap to improve the product?
What other product or process could you use?
What rules could you substitute?
Can you use this product somewhere else, or as a substitute for something else?
What will happen if you change your feelings or attitude toward this product?
Combine
What would happen if you combined this product with another, to create something new?
What if you combined purposes or objectives?
What could you combine to maximize the uses of this product?
How could you combine talent and resources to create a new approach to this product?
Adapt
How could you adapt or readjust this product to serve another purpose or use?
What else is the product like?
Who or what could you emulate to adapt this product?
What else is like your product?
What other context could you put your product into?
What other products or ideas could you use for inspiration?
Modify
How could you change the shape, look, or feel of your product?
What could you add to modify this product?
What could you emphasize or highlight to create more value?
What element of this product could you strengthen to create something new?
Put to Another Use
Can you use this product somewhere else, perhaps in another industry?
Who else could use this product?
How would this product behave differently in another setting?
Could you recycle the waste from this product to make something new?
Eliminate
How could you streamline or simplify this product?
What features, parts, or rules could you eliminate?
What could you understate or tone down?
How could you make it smaller, faster, lighter, or more fun?
What would happen if you took away part of this product? What would you have in its place?
Reverse
What would happen if you reversed this process or sequenced things differently?
What if you try to do the exact opposite of what you're trying to do now?
What components could you substitute to change the order of this product?
What roles could you reverse or swap?
How could you reorganize this product?
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Here's a quick shooting-from-the-hip example - some of these idea may be stupid and easy to shoot full of holes but it'll help to illustrate how the process works:
Concept: Dating Site
Substitute - Process substitution: instead of waiting for people to message one another, incentivize interaction: users are required to send a compliment to other users on some part of their profile, or let a user know they have an interest in common. Failure to do 3 interactions per week disables your ability to send/receive messages for the following week.
Combine - Work out a deal with Groupon/LivingSocial etc to set up people's first date. Create a Date-of-the-Day Deal. Lot's of possibilities there.
Adapt - Buying and selling a home is kind of like dating - its a big commitment and you want to find the right buyer/seller. How about a local real estate sites that mimics a dating site? Set up a profile for your home / yourself as a buyer. Like people's property. Categorize homes the way interests are categorized on dating sites. OK this one was kind of weak one. I'm trying to finish up this post so I can go to the bar.
Modify - Reward people messaging each other. "Gameify" it by including badges, tiers, points etc. Achievements give rewards.
Put to another use - if you have a dating site and find people who are having trouble hooking up or are lowly rated, market pick up/seduction, beauty, weight loss, health, self-improvement products to them.
Eliminate - eliminate the pressure of "dating". Make the site about local singles happy hour meetups
Reverse - how about a site about breaking up? User-submitted content of brutal breakups. Could be good link bait.
time to :drinkup:
ripped from here:
Substitute
What materials or resources can you substitute or swap to improve the product?
What other product or process could you use?
What rules could you substitute?
Can you use this product somewhere else, or as a substitute for something else?
What will happen if you change your feelings or attitude toward this product?
Combine
What would happen if you combined this product with another, to create something new?
What if you combined purposes or objectives?
What could you combine to maximize the uses of this product?
How could you combine talent and resources to create a new approach to this product?
Adapt
How could you adapt or readjust this product to serve another purpose or use?
What else is the product like?
Who or what could you emulate to adapt this product?
What else is like your product?
What other context could you put your product into?
What other products or ideas could you use for inspiration?
Modify
How could you change the shape, look, or feel of your product?
What could you add to modify this product?
What could you emphasize or highlight to create more value?
What element of this product could you strengthen to create something new?
Put to Another Use
Can you use this product somewhere else, perhaps in another industry?
Who else could use this product?
How would this product behave differently in another setting?
Could you recycle the waste from this product to make something new?
Eliminate
How could you streamline or simplify this product?
What features, parts, or rules could you eliminate?
What could you understate or tone down?
How could you make it smaller, faster, lighter, or more fun?
What would happen if you took away part of this product? What would you have in its place?
Reverse
What would happen if you reversed this process or sequenced things differently?
What if you try to do the exact opposite of what you're trying to do now?
What components could you substitute to change the order of this product?
What roles could you reverse or swap?
How could you reorganize this product?
---
Here's a quick shooting-from-the-hip example - some of these idea may be stupid and easy to shoot full of holes but it'll help to illustrate how the process works:
Concept: Dating Site
Substitute - Process substitution: instead of waiting for people to message one another, incentivize interaction: users are required to send a compliment to other users on some part of their profile, or let a user know they have an interest in common. Failure to do 3 interactions per week disables your ability to send/receive messages for the following week.
Combine - Work out a deal with Groupon/LivingSocial etc to set up people's first date. Create a Date-of-the-Day Deal. Lot's of possibilities there.
Adapt - Buying and selling a home is kind of like dating - its a big commitment and you want to find the right buyer/seller. How about a local real estate sites that mimics a dating site? Set up a profile for your home / yourself as a buyer. Like people's property. Categorize homes the way interests are categorized on dating sites. OK this one was kind of weak one. I'm trying to finish up this post so I can go to the bar.
Modify - Reward people messaging each other. "Gameify" it by including badges, tiers, points etc. Achievements give rewards.
Put to another use - if you have a dating site and find people who are having trouble hooking up or are lowly rated, market pick up/seduction, beauty, weight loss, health, self-improvement products to them.
Eliminate - eliminate the pressure of "dating". Make the site about local singles happy hour meetups
Reverse - how about a site about breaking up? User-submitted content of brutal breakups. Could be good link bait.
time to :drinkup: