The SCAMPER Technique

by Olivier Serrat
Rationale
A problem is a situation, condition, or issue that remains unresolved
and makes it difficult to accomplish a desired objective. It is recognized
as such when an individual, group, or organization becomes aware of a
significant difference between what is desired and what actually is.
Trying to find a solution to a problem is known as problem solving.
Problem solving is the process by which a situation is
analyzed, a workable solution is determined, and corrective
action is taken. The common milestones of problem solving are to
Define (or clarify) the problem.
Analyze causes.
Generate ideas (identify alternatives).
Weigh up ideas (assess alternatives).
Make a decision (select an alternative).
Determine next steps to implement the solution.
Evaluate whether the problem was solved or not.
The SCAMPER Technique
Every problem invites a solution and, needless to say, problem-solving techniques are
numerous.1 The SCAMPER technique, for one, uses a set of directed, idea-spurring
questions to suggest some addition to, or modification of, something that already
exists. 2 It has also received much attention as a learning tool that fosters awareness,
drive, fluency,
1 They include Affinity Diagrams (organizing ideas into common themes); the Ansoff
Matrix (understanding the different risks of different options); Appreciation (extracting
maximum information from facts); Appreciative Inquiry (solving problems by looking at
what is going right); the Boston Matrix (focusing effort to give the greatest returns);
Brainstorming (generating a large number of ideas to solve a problem); Cause-andEffect Diagrams (identifying the possible causes of problems); Core Competence
Analysis (get ahead, stay ahead); Critical Success Factors (identifying the things that
really matter for success); the Five Whys Technique (quickly getting to the root of a
problem); Flowcharts (understanding how a process works); the Greiner Curve
(surviving the crises that come
with growth); Lateral Thinking (changing concepts and perception); the Marketing Mix
and the 4 Ps (understanding how to position a market offering); the McKinsey 7Ss
(making sure that all the parts of an organization work in harmony); PEST (Political,
Economic, Sociocultural, and Technological) Analysis (understanding the big picture);
Porters Five Forces (understanding where power lies); the Reframing Matrix (examining
problems from distinct viewpoints); Risk Analysis; Systems Diagrams (understanding the
way factors affect one another); Root Cause Analysis (identifying the root causes of
problems or events); SWOT Analysis (analyzing strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats); and USP (Unique Selling Propositions) Analysis (crafting
competitive edge). 2 The principles of the SCAMPER technique were first formally

suggested by Alex Osborn and later arranged by Bob Eberle as a mnemonic in 1991 to
increase interest in the perceptive, imaginative, and creative abilities of children

In 1939, a team led by advertising executive Alex F. Osborn coined the term "brainstorm." So it
really is true, Everything old it new again. Today it is by far the most widely used technique
used to stimulate imagineering. He is credited with saying: "It is easier to tone down a wild idea
than to think up a new one.
Brainstorming is a technique used by large and small companies for problem-solving, learning
and development, planning and team building. It is a lateral thinking process. Lateral thinking is
the process of share ideas and thoughts no matter how silly they may seem. These ideas are
eventually evaluated, improved and transformed into useful ideas.
Brainstorming can also be done on your own. Generally individuals, brainstorming privately,
tends to generate a wider range of ideas. Group brainstorming tend to generate less. The
downside is that private sessions may not produce ideas as effectively because an individual
does not have the benefit of the groups experience.

Brainstorming can be an effective way to generate lots of ideas on a specific issue and then
determine which idea or ideas is the best solution. Brainstorming is most effective with
groups of 8-12 people and should be performed in a relaxed environment. If participants feel
free to relax and joke around, they'll stretch their minds further and therefore produce more
creative ideas.
A brainstorming session requires a facilitator, a brainstorming space and something on which
to write ideas, such as a white-board a flip chart or software tool. The facilitator's
responsibilities include guiding the session, encouraging participation and writing ideas down.
Brainstorming works best with a varied group of people. Participants should come from various
departments across the organisation and have different backgrounds. Even in specialist areas,
outsiders can bring fresh ideas that can inspire the experts.
There are numerous approaches to brainstorming, but the traditional approach is generally the
most effective because it is the most energetic and openly collaborative, allowing participants
to build on each others' ideas.

Step by Step
1.

Define your problem or issue as a creative challenge. This is extremely important. A

badly designed challenge could lead to lots of ideas which fail to solve your problem. A
well designed creative challenge generates the best ideas to solve your problem.
Creative challenges typically start with: "In what ways might we...?" or "How could
we...?" Your creative challenge should be concise, to the point and exclude any

2.

3.

4.
5.
6.
7.

information other than the challenge itself. For example: "In what ways might we
improve product X?" or "How could we encourage more local people to join our club?"
Give yourselves a time limit. We recommend around 25 minutes, but experience will
show how much time is required. Larger groups may need more time to get
everyone's ideas out. Alternatively, give yourself an idea limit. At minimum, push for
50 ideas. But 100 ideas is even better.
Once the brainstorming starts, participants shout out solutions to the problem while
the facilitator writes them down usually on a white board or flip-chart for all to see.
There must be absolutely no criticizing of ideas. No matter how daft, how impossible
or how silly an idea is, it must be written down. Laughing is to be encouraged.
Criticism is not.
Once your time is up, select the five ideas which you like best. Make sure everyone
involved in the brainstorming session is in agreement.
Write down about five criteria for judging which ideas best solve your problem. Criteria
should start with the word "should", for example, "it should be cost effective", "it
should be legal", "it should be possible to finish before July 15", etc.
Give each idea a score of 0 to 5 points depending on how well it meets each criterion.
Once all of the ideas have been scored for each criterion, add up the scores.
The idea with the highest score will best solve your problem. But you should keep a
record of all of your best ideas and their scores in case your best idea turns out not to
be workable.

KEY FACTORS FOR SUCCESSFULL BRAIN STORMING

There are a numerous approaches to brainstorming, but whichever approach you use, there
are several key factors which make the difference between a successful brainstorming session
and a mediocre brainstorming session.
State your challenge correctly. In order to get the right ideas, you need to ensure that you
are giving the brainstorm session participants the right challenge. Otherwise, you could end up
with a lot of ideas which do not actually solve your problem.
No squelching! Squelching is when you criticise an idea or a person contributing the idea.
Squelching can be obvious, such as "That's the dumbest idea I have ever heard!" or subtle,
such as "you'd never get the budget to do that." No matter what the form, squelching does
two terrible things to a brainstorming session. Firstly, it makes the person who contributed the
idea feel bad. As a result, she is unlikely to contribute any more ideas to the session. Even if
her idea was not a good one, it is likely she would have had other, better ideas to contribute.
Secondly, squelching tells other participants that unusual ideas are not welcome at this
brainstorming session. Since most creative ideas are also unusual ideas, a single squelching
effectively prevents participants from offering creative ideas. So, if you remember nothing else
about brainstorming, remember: no squelching!
Mixed participants. When brainstorming works well, it is because the session taps into the
combined creativity of all the participants. Clearly, then, the more varied the participants, the
wider the range of creative thinking and the more creative the ideas generated. It is a
common mistake for managers to think: we need marketing ideas, so let's get the marketing
department together to brainstorm ideas. These people work together all the time, have
similar backgrounds and know too much about marketing. As a result, their ideas will be
limited in scope. Bringing together a dozen people from a dozen departments is a far better
approach to generating a wide range of creative ideas.
Enthusiastic facilitator. The facilitator is the person who manages the brainstorming
session. Normally, she does not contribute ideas, rather she makes note of the ideas,
encourages participation, prevents squelching, watches the time and directs the session. A
good facilitator will have a sense of humour and a knack for encouraging people to contribute
ideas and be creative in their thinking. A good facilitator compliments ideas and gives high

praise to the most outrageous ideas - that's because she knows that outrageous ideas
encourage outrageous thinking which generates creative ideas. Moreover, what at first might
seem a crazy idea may, on reflection, prove to be a very creative idea. Incidentally, if the
facilitator is in the same company as the participants, care should be taken not to use a
facilitator who is significantly higher in the corporate heirarchy. A high ranking moderator can
make participants reluctant to take the risk of proposing an outrageous or highly unusual idea.
Well stated challenge. The challenge is the problem or issue for which you will be
generating ideas. It is important to indicate very clearly the challenge in such a way as to
indicate the kind of ideas you want, while not making the challenge so restricting that
brainstormers cannot get creative. In our experience, the most common problem is that the
challenge is vaguely phrased. A manager who is looking for ideas on how to improve product X
in order to make it more attractive to younger customers all too often phrases the challenge
like this: "New product ideas" or "product improvements". Such vague challenges encourage
vague ideas, many of which do not respond to the managers' needs
Good environment with no disturbances. An uncomfortable environment, an overly small
room, cellphone calls and sectretaries calling their bosses out of the room for a moment all not
only interupt a brainstorming session, but also interupt the continuity and thinking of
participants. If you want an effective brainstorming session, you must insist participants turn
off their telephones and inform their staff that they are not to be disturbed short of a total
catastrophe. You should find a space that is large enough for the group and comfortable. A
supply of water and coffee should be provided. Sometimes a little alcohol, such as wine or
beer, can losen people up and reduce inhibitions about proposing crazy ideas. Where possible,
hold the brainstorming session outside your office, in a pleasant environment where
participants are less likely to be disturbed or worry about their other work obligations.

Attribute Listing
An attribute is an inherent characteristic. It is an object closely associated with or
belonging to a specific thing.Professor Robert Crawford of the University of Nebraska, in
1954, used the term attribute listing for the systematic searching for variations on each of
the main attributes of a design.
The objective of attribute listing is to focus ones mind on the basic problem and to
stimulate ones thinking process for generating new concepts that might better solve the
problem at hand.
Attribute listing is an individual creative activity. Different people may interpret the
same problem differently and may produce different lists of attributes.
Procedure for Attribute Listing
The working steps of attribute listing technique can be summarized as follows :
1. List the major attributes of an idea, device, product, system, or principal parts of the
problem.
2. Change or modify all listed attributes, no matter how impractical, for possible
improvements that can be made for the target idea, device, product, system, or principal
parts of the problem.
It is helpful to combine this creative technique with the rational checklist method for
concept generation.
Examples
Two examples are given to show how the attribute listing technique could be used to
improve the design of fax machines and mechanical push button locks.
[Example] Fax machines.
1. The major attributes of fax machines are:
(a) Function of machine.
(b) Type of paper.
(c) Size of paper.
(d) Shape of machine.
2. Ideas of each attribute are:
(a) Additional function of machine : telephone, copy, recording, radio, alarm.
(b) Type of paper : plain paper, special paper, transparency.
(c) Size of paper : A4, A3, B4, B3, pocket size, adjustable.
(d) Shape of machine : oval, rectangular, round, triangular.
[Example ] Mechanical push button locks.

A new sequential push button lock with variable

The major attributes of most existing mechanical push button locks are :
(a) Type : one step push button.
(b) Password : fix number.
(c) Shape : rectangular.
2.Ideas of each attribute are :
(a) Improve the product by achieving the function with sequential push button, repeatable
push button, and/or multistep push button.
(b) Improve the product by providing the function with variable passwords.
(c) Improve the product by producing various shapes and even colors of the locks with
industrial design.
Figure 5.3 shows a new concept of sequential push button lock with variable
passwords by computer simulation and by an acrylic model.

Figure 1: An Example Mind Map

To make notes on a subject using a Mind Map, draw it in the following way:
1. Write the title of the subject you're exploring in the center of the page, and draw a
circle around it. This is shown by the circle marked 1 in Figure 1, above.
2. As you come across major subdivisions or subheadings of the topic (or important
facts that relate to the subject) draw lines out from this circle. Label these lines
with these subdivisions or subheadings. These are shown by the lines marked 2 in
Figure 1.
3. As you "burrow" into the subject and uncover another level of information
(further subheadings, or individual facts) belonging to the subheadings above,
draw these as lines linked to the subheading lines. These are shown by the lines
marked 3 in Figure 1.
4. Finally, for individual facts or ideas, draw lines out from the appropriate heading
line and label them. These are shown by the lines marked 4 in Figure 1.
As you come across new information, link it in to the Mind Map appropriately.
A complete Mind Map may have main topic lines radiating in all directions from the
center. Sub-topics and facts will branch off these, like branches and twigs from the trunk
of a tree. You do not need to worry about the structure produced, as this will evolve as
you develop your mind map.

Note that the idea of numbered 'levels' in Figure 1 is only used to explain how the Mind
Map was created. All we are showing is that major headings radiate from the center, with
lower level headings and facts branching off from the higher level headings.
Improving your Mind Maps

Use single words or simple phrases for information: Most words in normal
writing are padding: They convey facts in the correct context, and in a format that
is pleasant to read. In your own Mind Maps, single strong words and meaningful
phrases can convey the same meaning more potently. Excess words just clutter the
Mind Map.

Print words: Joined up or indistinct writing can be more difficult to read.

Use color to separate different ideas: This will help you to separate ideas where
necessary. It also makes your Mind Map easier to remember. Color also helps to
show the organization of the subject.
Use symbols and images: Where a symbol or picture means something to you, use
it. Pictures can help you to remember information more effectively than words.
Using cross-linkages: Information in one part of the Mind Map may relate to
another part. Here you can draw in lines to show the cross-linkages. This helps
you to see how one part of the subject connects with another.

Examples: