scamper-method

SCAMPER Method In A Nutshell

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  • The SCAMPER method is a simple means of generating ideas to develop new products or improve existing products through brainstorming.
  • The SCAMPER method is an acronym of seven question categories. Each category can be analyzed when or as a business sees fit. There is no requirement to run through the list sequentially.
  • The SCAMPER method is a holistic approach to lateral thinking. It helps businesses consider all perspectives and make decisions most likely to encourage creativity and innovation.
AspectExplanation
DefinitionThe SCAMPER method is a creativity and innovation technique used to stimulate creative thinking and problem-solving. It was developed by Alex Faickney Osborn, an advertising executive, and later expanded by Bob Eberle. SCAMPER is an acronym representing different ways to manipulate and explore existing ideas, products, or processes to generate new and innovative solutions. Each letter in SCAMPER stands for a specific action that prompts creative thinking.
Key Concepts– Substitute: This involves replacing one element or component with another to explore different possibilities. – Combine: It encourages merging or combining various elements, features, or ideas to create something new. – Adapt: Adapting means modifying or altering an existing element to suit a different purpose or context. – Modify: Modification involves changing attributes like shape, size, color, or structure to generate fresh ideas. – Put to Another Use: This action prompts thinking about using an idea, product, or concept in a context different from its original purpose. – Eliminate: Eliminating elements or aspects that are not essential or redundant can lead to innovative solutions. – Reverse: Reversing involves considering what happens when you reverse or flip certain elements or processes, leading to unique insights.
Characteristics– Versatility: SCAMPER can be applied to various domains, including product design, marketing, problem-solving, and creative thinking in general. – Systematic: It provides a structured and systematic approach to brainstorming and ideation. – Adaptability: The method is adaptable to different situations and challenges, making it a valuable tool for innovation. – Action-Oriented: SCAMPER prompts action and exploration, encouraging participants to actively manipulate ideas.
Implications– Enhanced Creativity: SCAMPER stimulates creative thinking by encouraging individuals or teams to approach problems from multiple angles. – Innovation Catalyst: It can serve as a catalyst for innovation, helping organizations discover new product ideas, improve processes, and solve complex issues. – Problem-Solving Aid: SCAMPER aids in problem-solving by breaking down challenges into manageable parts and exploring various solutions. – Diverse Perspectives: It promotes diverse perspectives and collaboration within teams, as each member may apply SCAMPER in their unique way.
Advantages– Idea Generation: SCAMPER is effective in generating a wide range of ideas quickly. – Structured Approach: It provides a structured framework for creative thinking and innovation. – Flexibility: SCAMPER can be applied to different situations, industries, and problems. – Encourages Exploration: It encourages exploration and experimentation with existing ideas or concepts.
Drawbacks– Overcomplication: In some cases, SCAMPER may lead to overcomplicated solutions when too many modifications are introduced. – Lack of Guidance: It provides a framework for generating ideas but may not offer guidance on selecting the most viable or practical solutions. – Subjectivity: The effectiveness of SCAMPER may vary depending on individual creativity and interpretation.
Applications– Product Design: SCAMPER can be used to enhance or create new products by applying each of the seven actions to existing designs or concepts. – Marketing Strategy: It can help marketers brainstorm innovative marketing campaigns, advertisements, and promotions. – Problem-Solving: SCAMPER is valuable in problem-solving situations, where a structured approach to idea generation is needed. – Creative Workshops: Many creative workshops and brainstorming sessions use SCAMPER as a tool to stimulate creativity.
Use Cases– Product Improvement: A company uses SCAMPER to improve an existing smartphone design by substituting materials, combining features, and adapting user interfaces. – Marketing Campaign: A marketing team applies SCAMPER to develop a unique advertising campaign by putting the product to another use, combining unexpected elements, and modifying messaging. – Innovative Packaging: A packaging designer utilizes SCAMPER to create innovative and eco-friendly packaging solutions by eliminating unnecessary elements and adapting materials. – Educational Activity: A teacher uses SCAMPER as an educational activity to encourage students to think creatively and come up with alternative solutions to everyday problems.
ConclusionThe SCAMPER method is a powerful tool for sparking creative thinking and innovation. By systematically applying each of its seven actions, individuals and teams can explore new possibilities, solve problems, and generate fresh ideas in various domains, ultimately driving innovation and creativity.

Eighteen years later, it was adapted by psychologist Bob Eberle in his book SCAMPER: Games for Imagination Development. The SCAMPER method was first described by advertising executive Alex Osborne in 1953. The SCAMPER method is a form of creative thinking or problem solving based on evaluating ideas or groups of ideas.

Understanding the SCAMPER method

The SCAMPER method is a simple way to stimulate creative thinking through the brainstorming of ideas. It is based on the philosophy that new ideas are simply modifications or combinations of existing ideas.

To generate new ideas during the product development process, businesses must ask seven different types of questions. 

The seven questions of the SCAMPER method

The seven questions – which comprise the acronym SCAMPER – can be tackled in any order that the project team sees fit. There is no emphasis on following a sequential process.

Team leaders should also consider a wide range of creative ideas, no matter how ridiculous they initially sound.

Here is a look at each of the seven question categories:

  1. Substitute – what parts of a product or service can be substituted with something else? Are there better alternatives that will not affect the broader project? Are there substitutes and simpler and most cost-effective to produce? Team members can also be swapped out for someone with a different perspective. In the early days of McDonald’s, glass and porcelain table implements were replaced with paper and plastic to avoid dishwashing. 
  2. Combine – how can two or more parts of a product, problem, or process be combined to produce something innovative? How can certain expertise be combined?
  3. Adapt – could products or services be adapted or tweaked to improve performance? How can the product or service be made more user-friendly or attractive?
  4. Modify – what can be emphasized (or de-emphasized) in a product or problem? Are there certain components or features that could be accentuated in line with consumer demand? Indeed, which components are superfluous and should be omitted? Here, the focus should always be on creating value.
  5. Put to another use – how can a product or service be repurposed? Could it be better utilized by a different target audience? Might the consumer use a product in a way that was not intended? In 1974, McDonald’s opened the first Ronald McDonald House charity to assist children and their families dealing with cancer.
  6. Eliminate – can the product or service be simplified through the elimination of one or more aspects? Can it be made smaller, more efficient, or easier to assemble? Elimination is crucial in refining a product to the point where only the primary function remains. For example, McDonald’s chose to eliminate table service to save money on wait staff and simplify its process.
  7. Reverse/rearrange – what happens if a process is run backward? Can the pace or order of the schedule be modified? Can components be rearranged more efficiently?

Case Studies

  • Apple’s iPhone:
    • Combine: The iPhone combines various technologies like the touchscreen interface, camera, and mobile apps to create a multifunctional device.
    • Substitute: Apple continually looks for better materials and technologies to replace components in its iPhones, such as upgrading from LCD to OLED screens.
    • Adapt: Apple adapts the iPhone’s operating system to improve performance and user experience through regular software updates.
    • Modify: The company emphasizes certain features like camera capabilities and processing power based on consumer demand.
    • Put to Another Use: iPhones are repurposed for various applications beyond communication, such as mobile gaming and photography.
    • Eliminate: Apple often eliminates outdated hardware components, like removing the headphone jack to prioritize wireless audio.
    • Reverse/Rearrange: Apple explores different design layouts and user interface arrangements in iPhone iterations.
  • Tesla’s Electric Vehicles:
    • Substitute: Tesla seeks advanced battery technologies to substitute traditional combustion engines with electric power.
    • Combine: Tesla combines electric propulsion, autonomous driving features, and renewable energy integration in its vehicles.
    • Adapt: Continuous software updates adapt Tesla vehicles’ functionality, improving autonomy and user experience.
    • Modify: Tesla emphasizes features like range, performance, and safety based on customer preferences.
    • Put to Another Use: Tesla’s electric vehicles can be repurposed as power sources for homes during power outages.
    • Eliminate: Tesla simplifies vehicle design by removing many traditional car components like exhaust systems.
    • Reverse/Rearrange: Tesla explores alternative vehicle layouts and interior arrangements for future models.
  • Google’s Search Engine:
    • Substitute: Google explores alternatives to traditional search algorithms, experimenting with AI-driven search technologies.
    • Combine: Google combines various data sources and AI algorithms to provide personalized search results and recommendations.
    • Adapt: Google adapts its search engine to local languages and cultures, making it more user-friendly worldwide.
    • Modify: Google emphasizes mobile-friendly search results and rich snippets to enhance user experience.
    • Put to Another Use: Google’s search engine data is repurposed for services like Google Maps and Knowledge Graph.
    • Eliminate: Google simplifies the search interface by reducing clutter and unnecessary features.
    • Reverse/Rearrange: Google experiments with the arrangement of search results and user interface elements for optimization.
  • Coca-Cola’s Beverage Innovation:
    • Substitute: Coca-Cola explores alternative sweeteners and ingredients to create healthier beverage options.
    • Combine: The company combines various flavors and ingredients to create unique limited-edition soda flavors.
    • Adapt: Coca-Cola adapts its products to local tastes and preferences, introducing region-specific flavors.
    • Modify: Coca-Cola emphasizes packaging modifications and portion sizes to meet changing consumer demands.
    • Put to Another Use: Coca-Cola repurposes its branding and intellectual property for merchandise and marketing campaigns.
    • Eliminate: Coca-Cola simplifies product lines by discontinuing underperforming beverages.
    • Reverse/Rearrange: The company experiments with different combinations of flavors and ingredients for new beverage concepts.
  • Amazon’s Echo Devices:
    • Substitute: Amazon continuously seeks improved voice recognition technology to replace existing components in Echo devices.
    • Combine: Echo devices combine voice assistants, smart home controls, and audio playback features for a multifunctional experience.
    • Adapt: Amazon adapts Echo devices to integrate with a growing ecosystem of smart home devices and services.
    • Modify: Amazon emphasizes sound quality and device aesthetics based on user feedback and preferences.
    • Put to Another Use: Echo devices can be repurposed for tasks beyond voice assistance, such as controlling home automation systems.
    • Eliminate: Amazon simplifies device controls by removing physical buttons and using voice commands.
    • Reverse/Rearrange: Amazon explores alternative form factors and placements for Echo devices.

Key takeaways

  • Origin and Evolution of the SCAMPER Method:
    • The SCAMPER method was introduced by advertising executive Alex Osborne in 1953 as a way to stimulate creative thinking and problem-solving.
    • Psychologist Bob Eberle adapted it in his book “SCAMPER: Games for Imagination Development” eighteen years later, making it a tool for generating ideas and enhancing creativity.
  • Philosophy and Essence of SCAMPER:
    • The SCAMPER method is built on the idea that innovative ideas are often variations, modifications, or combinations of existing concepts.
    • It provides a structured framework for evaluating and expanding upon ideas to generate new solutions and possibilities.
  • Seven Questions of the SCAMPER Method:
    • SCAMPER is an acronym representing seven different question categories that guide the creative brainstorming process.
    • These questions can be addressed in any order, allowing flexibility and adaptability to the specific problem or project.
  • Substitute:
    • Focuses on replacing certain aspects of a product, service, or solution with alternatives.
    • Encourages thinking about better materials, components, or perspectives that could enhance the overall result.
    • Example: McDonald’s substituting glass and porcelain utensils with disposable materials to improve efficiency.
  • Combine:
    • Involves exploring ways to integrate or merge different elements or concepts to create something novel.
    • Can lead to innovative solutions that arise from the synergy of combining different elements.
    • Example: Combining different areas of expertise within a team to generate unique insights.
  • Adapt:
    • Considers how existing products or solutions can be adjusted or modified to improve performance or user experience.
    • Emphasizes user-friendliness, attractiveness, and adaptability.
    • Example: Adapting a software interface to make it more intuitive for users.
  • Modify:
    • Focuses on altering specific components or features of a product or solution to align with consumer demand.
    • Encourages emphasizing valuable aspects and eliminating unnecessary ones.
    • Example: Enhancing certain features of a smartphone based on consumer preferences.
  • Put to Another Use:
    • Explores repurposing a product or solution for a different audience or context.
    • Identifies unconventional uses that may provide value in unexpected ways.
    • Example: McDonald’s repurposing its resources to establish the Ronald McDonald House charity.
  • Eliminate:
    • Involves simplifying a product or solution by removing non-essential components or steps.
    • Aims to refine a concept to its core function, making it more efficient and focused.
    • Example: McDonald’s eliminating table service to streamline operations and reduce costs.
  • Reverse/Rearrange:
    • Encourages thinking about the effects of reversing or rearranging elements in a process or solution.
    • Explores alternative sequences and perspectives to uncover new insights.
    • Example: Reversing the order of a workflow to discover potential improvements.
  • Benefits and Key Takeaways:
    • The SCAMPER method serves as a practical and systematic approach to generating creative ideas.
    • It fosters a culture of innovation by encouraging teams to explore various angles and possibilities.
    • By applying the seven question categories, businesses can refine existing products and develop new ones.
  • Flexibility and Holistic Thinking:
    • The SCAMPER method’s non-sequential nature allows teams to address the questions in the most relevant order.
    • It promotes holistic thinking by considering diverse perspectives, which leads to well-rounded solutions.

Connected Thinking Frameworks

Convergent vs. Divergent Thinking

convergent-vs-divergent-thinking
Convergent thinking occurs when the solution to a problem can be found by applying established rules and logical reasoning. Whereas divergent thinking is an unstructured problem-solving method where participants are encouraged to develop many innovative ideas or solutions to a given problem. Where convergent thinking might work for larger, mature organizations where divergent thinking is more suited for startups and innovative companies.

Critical Thinking

critical-thinking
Critical thinking involves analyzing observations, facts, evidence, and arguments to form a judgment about what someone reads, hears, says, or writes.

Systems Thinking

systems-thinking
Systems thinking is a holistic means of investigating the factors and interactions that could contribute to a potential outcome. It is about thinking non-linearly, and understanding the second-order consequences of actions and input into the system.

Vertical Thinking

vertical-thinking
Vertical thinking, on the other hand, is a problem-solving approach that favors a selective, analytical, structured, and sequential mindset. The focus of vertical thinking is to arrive at a reasoned, defined solution.

Maslow’s Hammer

einstellung-effect
Maslow’s Hammer, otherwise known as the law of the instrument or the Einstellung effect, is a cognitive bias causing an over-reliance on a familiar tool. This can be expressed as the tendency to overuse a known tool (perhaps a hammer) to solve issues that might require a different tool. This problem is persistent in the business world where perhaps known tools or frameworks might be used in the wrong context (like business plans used as planning tools instead of only investors’ pitches).

Peter Principle

peter-principle
The Peter Principle was first described by Canadian sociologist Lawrence J. Peter in his 1969 book The Peter Principle. The Peter Principle states that people are continually promoted within an organization until they reach their level of incompetence.

Straw Man Fallacy

straw-man-fallacy
The straw man fallacy describes an argument that misrepresents an opponent’s stance to make rebuttal more convenient. The straw man fallacy is a type of informal logical fallacy, defined as a flaw in the structure of an argument that renders it invalid.

Streisand Effect

streisand-effect
The Streisand Effect is a paradoxical phenomenon where the act of suppressing information to reduce visibility causes it to become more visible. In 2003, Streisand attempted to suppress aerial photographs of her Californian home by suing photographer Kenneth Adelman for an invasion of privacy. Adelman, who Streisand assumed was paparazzi, was instead taking photographs to document and study coastal erosion. In her quest for more privacy, Streisand’s efforts had the opposite effect.

Heuristic

heuristic
As highlighted by German psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer in the paper “Heuristic Decision Making,” the term heuristic is of Greek origin, meaning “serving to find out or discover.” More precisely, a heuristic is a fast and accurate way to make decisions in the real world, which is driven by uncertainty.

Recognition Heuristic

recognition-heuristic
The recognition heuristic is a psychological model of judgment and decision making. It is part of a suite of simple and economical heuristics proposed by psychologists Daniel Goldstein and Gerd Gigerenzer. The recognition heuristic argues that inferences are made about an object based on whether it is recognized or not.

Representativeness Heuristic

representativeness-heuristic
The representativeness heuristic was first described by psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. The representativeness heuristic judges the probability of an event according to the degree to which that event resembles a broader class. When queried, most will choose the first option because the description of John matches the stereotype we may hold for an archaeologist.

Take-The-Best Heuristic

take-the-best-heuristic
The take-the-best heuristic is a decision-making shortcut that helps an individual choose between several alternatives. The take-the-best (TTB) heuristic decides between two or more alternatives based on a single good attribute, otherwise known as a cue. In the process, less desirable attributes are ignored.

Biases

biases
The concept of cognitive biases was introduced and popularized by the work of Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman in 1972. Biases are seen as systematic errors and flaws that make humans deviate from the standards of rationality, thus making us inept at making good decisions under uncertainty.

Bundling Bias

bundling-bias
The bundling bias is a cognitive bias in e-commerce where a consumer tends not to use all of the products bought as a group, or bundle. Bundling occurs when individual products or services are sold together as a bundle. Common examples are tickets and experiences. The bundling bias dictates that consumers are less likely to use each item in the bundle. This means that the value of the bundle and indeed the value of each item in the bundle is decreased.

Barnum Effect

barnum-effect
The Barnum Effect is a cognitive bias where individuals believe that generic information – which applies to most people – is specifically tailored for themselves.

First-Principles Thinking

first-principles-thinking
First-principles thinking – sometimes called reasoning from first principles – is used to reverse-engineer complex problems and encourage creativity. It involves breaking down problems into basic elements and reassembling them from the ground up. Elon Musk is among the strongest proponents of this way of thinking.

Ladder Of Inference

ladder-of-inference
The ladder of inference is a conscious or subconscious thinking process where an individual moves from a fact to a decision or action. The ladder of inference was created by academic Chris Argyris to illustrate how people form and then use mental models to make decisions.

Six Thinking Hats Model

six-thinking-hats-model
The Six Thinking Hats model was created by psychologist Edward de Bono in 1986, who noted that personality type was a key driver of how people approached problem-solving. For example, optimists view situations differently from pessimists. Analytical individuals may generate ideas that a more emotional person would not, and vice versa.

Second-Order Thinking

second-order-thinking
Second-order thinking is a means of assessing the implications of our decisions by considering future consequences. Second-order thinking is a mental model that considers all future possibilities. It encourages individuals to think outside of the box so that they can prepare for every and eventuality. It also discourages the tendency for individuals to default to the most obvious choice.

Lateral Thinking

lateral-thinking
Lateral thinking is a business strategy that involves approaching a problem from a different direction. The strategy attempts to remove traditionally formulaic and routine approaches to problem-solving by advocating creative thinking, therefore finding unconventional ways to solve a known problem. This sort of non-linear approach to problem-solving, can at times, create a big impact.

Bounded Rationality

bounded-rationality
Bounded rationality is a concept attributed to Herbert Simon, an economist and political scientist interested in decision-making and how we make decisions in the real world. In fact, he believed that rather than optimizing (which was the mainstream view in the past decades) humans follow what he called satisficing.

Dunning-Kruger Effect

dunning-kruger-effect
The Dunning-Kruger effect describes a cognitive bias where people with low ability in a task overestimate their ability to perform that task well. Consumers or businesses that do not possess the requisite knowledge make bad decisions. What’s more, knowledge gaps prevent the person or business from seeing their mistakes.

Occam’s Razor

occams-razor
Occam’s Razor states that one should not increase (beyond reason) the number of entities required to explain anything. All things being equal, the simplest solution is often the best one. The principle is attributed to 14th-century English theologian William of Ockham.

Mandela Effect

mandela-effect
The Mandela effect is a phenomenon where a large group of people remembers an event differently from how it occurred. The Mandela effect was first described in relation to Fiona Broome, who believed that former South African President Nelson Mandela died in prison during the 1980s. While Mandela was released from prison in 1990 and died 23 years later, Broome remembered news coverage of his death in prison and even a speech from his widow. Of course, neither event occurred in reality. But Broome was later to discover that she was not the only one with the same recollection of events.

Crowding-Out Effect

crowding-out-effect
The crowding-out effect occurs when public sector spending reduces spending in the private sector.

Bandwagon Effect

bandwagon-effect
The bandwagon effect tells us that the more a belief or idea has been adopted by more people within a group, the more the individual adoption of that idea might increase within the same group. This is the psychological effect that leads to herd mentality. What in marketing can be associated with social proof.

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