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HOW TO STIMULATE/ INSPIRE INVENTION (GENERAL METHOD (LISTING (write down…
HOW TO STIMULATE/ INSPIRE INVENTION
GENERAL METHOD
BRAINSTORMING
dump ideas without any concern about its relevance, appropriateness, usefulness, or logic
very general & not focused
Advantage:
begin instantly
move quickly
produce unexpected ideas/angles
Disadvantage:
sometimes only one/two useful ideas/ specifics to build on
other times, many valuable ideas/ specifics
can become rapid, low stress technique
useful when you have no topic/ initial idea to begin with
LISTING
write down terms (general ideas & specifics) relevant to your topic
no particular order on the terms - reflect enough to include relevant terms
more focused on the topis/field
Advantage:
encourages recall
Disadvantage:
tends to pull out obvious & familiar material
less success in producing unexpected/ unusual angle
idea might be repeated over & over again
can produce less obvious material by pushing yourself to list all you can think of by demanding twenty more items
application: prewriting for a chosen topic which you already have fairly good knowledge
FREEWRITING
like brainstrorming, but in form of sentences & paragraphs
encourages longer chain of ideas as you write
Advantage & disadvantage like BRAINSTORMING
FOCUSED
like LISTING
begin with selected/ assigned topic, use sentence forms to write down relevant ideas/ specifics
Advantage & disadvantage like LISTING
FORCED
imposes artificial time/ length on your freewriting
write without pause for 4 minutes/ until you fill a page
CLUSTERING
write main topic in small circle in centre of paper
add secondary points in new circles arranged around first one
add another level of points in more circles
more visual & organized
Advantage:
appeals to people who like to process information spatially/ visually rather than verbally/ linearly
provide stimulus when ideas/ specifics are stretched out in space rather than in vertical list/ group of sentences
Disadvantage:
derive more personality of inventor from goal/contents of inventing task
SENSE MAPPING
grid/table to encourage invention/ recall
like CLUSTERING
create simple table with five senses, fill rows/ columns with specific details that relate to topic/ invoke appropriate senses
Advantage:
encourage concreteness & specifics
engaging writer's own senses as stimuli
opposite from common direction: to start with specific that will then lead to ideas
application: description & narration/ commentary
ADAPTATION
adapting existing solution/ technical principle from another problem to solve a new problem
e.g.
hovercraft - hover lawn mower
Renaults hands-free key card - proximity sensor to detect cards on owner to lock/unlock and start car
removing bell pepper seeds (force fluid into body using slow & high pressure, and rapidly reduce pressure to separate/ break body - break artificial diamond
ANALOG & PAIR
draws on similar situations to provide ideas for invention/design
simulate life form
acts of insight - important to minor incremental inventions & major radical inventions
insight doesnt always occur as a flash - sometimes steady & growing awareness of the solution to a problem
e.g.
Bell uses analogy of human ear to design telephone apparatus
simulate how birds fly to create aircraft
aircraft landing in airport without colliding with another based on bees
CONSENSUS IDEA
group process where input of everyone is carefully considered & outcome decided based on the best that meets the needs of the group
best possible decision based on process of synthesizing/ combining wisdom of all group members/ participants
important to have cooperative intent - members willing to work together to find solution
cooperative nature of consensus (members work together to find best solution) is different mindset from competitive nature of majority voting
SUCCESSFUL CONSENSUS PROCESS
Facilitation
members have an understanding & skills to run consensus process
Participants understand process
have basic understanding of consensus process & how to apply it, what are the expectations of the group
Participation
members need to be present in discussion to share ideas & hear other perspective * ideas
Cooperation
-willingness to trust the wisdom of group & cooperate
Safe place to talk about the decision at hand
in a comfortable environment - members can share ideas/ thoughts/ fears/ opinions/ experinces
Ideas are heard & acknowledged
contribution of each members are considered fairly & equally, even if not part of final solution
Decisions are documented
agreement is captured in writing so that it can be referred to later
Process is reviewed
decision process is evaluated at some interval
meeting elements & decision process that works is continued
things that do not work well are examined & changed
IDEA FIELDS
6 STEPS
Find your knowledge niche
focus on area you know well
harder to make improvements in unfamiliar field
once theme/ niche is defined, can start digging deeper with aim of finding areas for improvement
Find problems & dissatisfaction
find what is missing & can be improved
try to solve: what is not perfect, complains, bother, make life easier
From problems & challenges to identified needs
divide each dissatisfaction in list & break the them into step by step process
what worries people & why
breaking a problem into a step-by-step process to come out with specific & clear need - what to invent - what is the solution you need to find
Finding gaps in the market
once need is defined, research on what already exists & how it can be improved
can improve on existing solution - how is the problem addressed/ solved now - is solution offered in the market do the job
whats wrong with current invention - how people use solution - when do they get stuck - what is hard for them to do - how can it be improved
Creating solutions
start by borrowing ideas from other areas
product from other field & with different objective that have a feature that is relevant to invention you are creating
look at descriptions from step 4 & 5 on what needs to be created
what similar products can give inspiration to create your solution
use features identified in other products to come up with new invention ideas
Double check that your invention is useful & needed
check if invention idea useful
ask yourself is this really a problem - will someone be interested in using my invention idea & might find it useful
can my invention be used for other purpose than originally intended to - hidden potential
COMBINATION
combining two/ more existing device with similar functions to produce something new
e.g.
Toggle combines screwdriver and wire stripper
Swiss army knife