The Importance of Concepts in Creativity and Improvement A basic element in our thinking process concepts play a crucial role in the creative changes that lead to improvement. by Loyd P. Provost and Gerald J. Langley AREATIVE THINKING PLAYS. AN IMPORTANT role in any effort to improve. Since improvement comes from the applica tion of knowledge, any approach to improvement must consider how knowledge is obtained and applied. A 1996 article in Quality Progress’ introduced methoxs 1 fail tate creative thinking and to integrate these meth ‘ods into improvement activities using the Model for Improvement (see F model encourages making improvements by ‘obtaining new knowledge, then using this know ledge to develop, test and implement changes. The model provides the framework for making both incremental change and more dramatic innovation. In the previous article, ereative thinking methods ‘that deal with “concepts” were mentioned but not we 1). The use of the discussed. The purpose of this article is to explore the impor cepts play in our creative thinking processes and in how we can use concepts to develop creative changes that lead to. improvement. The notion of concepts will be presented, and then its appli cation 10 ‘lop- for improvement will be explored. Application of ‘change concepts’ will be discussed and the role of com cepts in TRIZ. (the theory of the solu tion of inventive problems) will be inyoduced, Greativity thinking and concepts What is a concept? The answer to this question is paradoxical in the sense that iis simple and com plex at the same time. Is simple 1 define in that a {concept is abasic element of how we al think. His ‘complex to define in thatthe very definition of eon cept contains concepts. What are the concepts bbchind “basic element"? What are the many con- ‘opts involved in describing “how we think"? Webster's College Dictionary from Random House (1995) defines a concept as a “general notion or idea." The same dictionary also defines concept as a “directly conceived ot intited abject of thought.” Creativity expert Edward de Bono takes a more action-oriented approach to defining concepts when he writes, “Concepts are general ‘ualiy Progress/tian 1398 31ceed Model for improvement pase etna acca? | | change fs an improvement? What change can we make that wil resi in improvement? methods or general ways of doing things Te focus ofthis article is to understand the role of concepts in creativity and improvement. To explore this role, imagine that you have an orange before you. Look at this orange in your ‘mind's eye. What are some thoughts that come to mind when ‘you picture this orange? If you take a few minutes, you will be ‘able to quickly develop a long list of things that the orange rakes you think of: round, juice, color, vitamins, ees, Florida or California, navel, pulp, breakfast, and so on, This list could ‘become very long if you were to spend even 10 minutes build ing it, A single imaginary orange Creates an almost endless list of concepts that we connect (0 the image of the orange through ‘our thinking Based on the experience with the orange, it canbe said thatthe ‘human thinking process can be thought of as following a path of ‘connected concepts, One thought leads to anther based on some kind of connection. Often this connection is based on our past experience, One might, for example, follow this tain of thought: When I heard the computer was down again, immediately began to worry about today's invoices. The last time the com- ‘ister went down, we had 10 work late to finish the invoices. “The fact that we think in connected concepts has both posi tive and negative connotations, To see how itis beneficial, con- sider a person who does not seem to have any connections between the concepts that occur in his or her thinking. Concepts just scemingly pour randomly through his or her mind. People ‘whose minds function in this seemingly random, uncannected ‘way are not functional members of society. Many of them are in 32 tty ron 380 Figure 2. Role of Concepts in the Thinking Process Concept ‘A opportunity to cesta new connection Figure 3. Provoking New Thought Patterns Current knowiege Poste anges Souice: 6. Langley, K Nala, T. Nola, C. Norman, and LL Pros, The Imorovement Gude: A Pracal Approach 10 Enhancing Organizational Performance (San Fascsco, (A: Jossey-Bass, 1996). ‘menial institutions. So the fact that almost all humans think in “eonnected” concepts is very beneficial to us as functioning, productive individuals. The connectivity is a key mechs for allowing us to relate to the world around us, Inwith the new ‘So what isthe downside to our thinking in connected con ‘cepts? The problem is that we often ignore new and better con: nections. IF we refer to a collection of concepts and their connec: tions as thought pater, then what we often miss because of the prior connectedness of the concepts isthe chance to follow new thought pattems. It turns out dha these connections tying certain concepts together play a big role in creativity. Concepts are like forks in the road or branching opportunites. We can pull back from specific destination (idea) toa fork (concept) and look for ‘another route (ee Figure 2), The recognition ofa concept under lying a specifi idea and using it to follow a new direction are ‘important parts of developing creative ideasMany expers in creativity say that all we have t0 do to be more creative is learn how to generate a disturbance or dis: placement in our normal thinking process, and an adventure in ‘ew ideas begins. Ths disturbance for opening up new territory in the mind is called a “provocation” by de Bono: He stresses that having a provocation is only the beginning; how one uses the provocation is equally important. He calls the use of a provocation “movement” and contrasts movement with the ‘other major activity of the mind, “judgment.” Movement-type thinking carries a concept forward io produce new connections. Judgment evaluates the concept for its own usefulness. ‘As an example of using a provocation, suppose a botanical hursery wants to evenly disperse the amount of work it has ‘throughout the year. At present, 90% of its business occurs between April and June, The rest of the year is very slow and ‘workers mist be lid of. In a session to generate creative ideas, the provocation “space shuttle” is used, This statement is not directly relevant to leveling the workload, but that is not its pur pose. Rather, its purpose is to create mental movement, Where ‘does the provocation kad? Some concepts that could emerge from the provocation when trying 1 conneet it to the problem include: + No seasons out in space + Controlled lighting, atmosphere, wate, and so on + Confined space Of course, many other concepts could emerge, but let's apply ‘movement to these. Pethaps the nursery could hecome a resource for indoor gardening, supplying plants and equipment for year- round gardening. Possibly, the business could take advantage of “no seasons” by stating a mail-order business for plants. This ‘would move the nursery closer to ano-seasons situation. Tn this example the nursery owners used the provocation to rove to new thought patterns, rather than judging the value of the statement “space shutle." Judging the value of the state- rent would keep them in the same thought pattern. The provo- cation simply helped them explore concepts that were not part, oftheir normal, everyday world, By displacing their thinking to a new place, the provocation and the skill of movement take advantage of the natural tendency of the mind, ts self-organiz: ing nature, 1 take a sight-seeing tip of concepis. The experi- fence, again duc 10 the nature of the mind, eventually ends up Focusing on the aim of improvement and of using the new con- pis 19 develop change. Figure 3 is a pictorial description of provoking a new thought pater Concept tools for creativity ‘What are some tools to utilize the skills of provocation and ‘movement? The concept triangle (see Figure 4) is a creative thinking method that helps generate new ideas that relate back to. particular purpose, The power of the method is that it helps develop creative ideas to improve the quality of service the {omer receives from our technical support telephone lines.” ‘After discussing its purpose, the team moved from the general purpose to some concepts that might help with the purpose. ‘One possible concept to support this aim is, “Provide consistent ‘and appropriate responses to customer problems.” From this ‘concept comes ideas, such as with the concept triangle. Some ideas that could be generated by this concept are, “Hold training classes every Monday morning for the technicians.” or Provide each technician with a computerized database on known problems and their solutions.” By using questions like "How does this help?” or “What are the general concepts behind this idea?” one can then move in the other directions 10 ‘new concepts. For example, another concept behind the data base idea is, “The technicians have the information they necd at their fingertips.” This concept can then lead to other ideas, such, as a Monday moming training and sharing meeting for techni cians, and so on, The concept fan promotes alternative ideas by providing a series of fixed points. A picture of the concept fan from the technical support improvement team is depicted in Figuee 5. Use of concepts in benchmarking Benchmarking is the study of other organizations forthe pur pose of identifying practices or generating ideas that could be ‘Adapted to result in improvement to the organization doing the study. Within an industry, changes spread relatively quickly. ‘When one automotive company supplies antilock brakes, others will follow so as not to lose customers, Once a particular type of clothing is made popular by aretaileg, other retailers also folUsually a unique, specific change is required to obtain improve- ‘ment for a specific set of circumstances, Thus there are many aceFigure 6. Application of Concept Triangle to Leaning Geant Ateratv ideas for concept | decors tic | f=} \ Concept [Gites so, 7 [vate demana} asia | pakig places \Gasee > | Parsing prolem amount of product from experimental runs and some rejected ‘material in the back four warehouse rooms. Others nodded in agreement and offered ideas about wasted space in the Various warehouse rooms, Steve was starting to feel good about this approach. He tried another concept: “Match inventories to predicted demand.” ‘Karen sid she and other forklift operators had talked about ce tain grades of product that seemed to sit in the warehouse for month before they were shipped. I they could use past data t0 predict when the various grades woukd be needed, they could save a considerable amount of space, She wondered why work ers haut been given this concept berore. Next, Steve tied "Minimize handoffs.” John jumped up and shouted, “After the packers finish, we put the product in room 14, After the lb is finished, we move it wo the south warehouse. And alter sales designates it for shipping, we move it to the north wing. Can’t we just put it in one place?” Everyone laughed because John was usually not this animated, But they all agreed with his idea Steve was very happy about how the meeting was progress ing. The group had begun to develop a number of innovative ideas for changes, and he still had more change concepts left ‘The possibilities for improvement now seemed nearly endless, Steve was employing one common approach For using the change concepts. He reviewed thelist for concepts that seemed relevant to his purpose, Then he used them to provoke specific ‘ideas for change; for example, "Move old experimental product ‘ut of the warehouse.” Steve's approach is not the only way that the change con- is can be used. A specific idea fora change can be generated first; for example, moving packaged material to one designated place to eliminate multiple moves, Identifying the general notion that’s being applied to generate this idea should lead to the change concept: “Minimize handoffs” New ideas can then bee generated from that change concept. One person, for exam- ple, might be assigned to complete all paperwork for invento- Tied product. Or, even better paperwork might be eliminated altogether by having a computer track the flow of finished prod: uct. Additionally, other change concepts in appropriate general ‘roupings—such as improve work flow oF optimize inventory might be explored to generate other ideas for changes: Example 2: Hip surgery. A second example of applying ‘change concepts is from health care. A group of nurses. physi- cal therapist, and a doctor were tying to shorten the length of Time it takes for a patient to recover from total hip replacement One of the nurses decided 10 use some creative thinking methods to help the team develop an improvement. The nurse used @ three-step process. First, he looked through a list of change concepts. He picked the change concept "Change the ‘order of process steps” from the list because the team had been focusing on a flowchart that showed the order of activites for patients having total hip replacements, Second, the nurse explained to the group members that they were going to use the change concept as a provocation for thinking about the process of ip replacement in anew way. Alltiough this approach initially did not make much sense to ‘most of the group members, they spent some time discussing the concept. From the discussion, it became apparent that there might be some value to shifing the timing of the eehabilitation activities to before the surgery. According to the doctor, this might prepare the patients” muscles and other tissues for the surgery. Several nurses and the physical therapist said it would probably be better to teach patients the rehabilitation move: ‘ments an exercises before the surgery. So, as the tied step, the team developed a plan to test the idea Thete were several results of the test: Patent outcomes were improved; patients experienced fewer complications, less pain and faster healing: the length of hospital stays dropped from an average of nine days to six days; and the number of patients \who had to be readmitted to the hospital also dropped slighty, Finding a better way These two examples summarize several key factors in using change concepts 10 develop creative ideas for improvement Useful concepts for change do not necessarily have to be highly technical. They often do not seem logical when they ae fist presented because they involve a new thought pattern. They require an interest and willingness in Finding a new and beter A change concept is not specific enough to use directly Concepis such as “Change the order of process steps” and “Minimize handoffs” must be applied toa specific situation and then tured into an idea. The two ways 0 use these suggested change concepts are similar beeause they are based on the skill of going back and forth beoween the general (change concepts) and the speetic (ideas), as illustrated in the concept fan. The examples demonstrate the use of this skill: its an important one to practice. Here are some other ways of using the change com- cepts listed in Figure 7: + Select a change concept at random and see what ideas are provoked. Because rational judgment is not sed in selecting the concept, this approach often leads (0 very innovative Select one of the groupings of change concepts that you think is applicable to your prablem or improvement opporti- nity. Select a change concept from this group at random and see what ideas ure provoked, + Study the different change concepts and document some ‘ideas for their use in your organization, Rely on this know edge when faced witha new situation. *+ Copy specific ideas in documented examples based on change concept if the ideas apply directly to Your situation Many of the change concepts in Figure 7 may be familiar, uaa Psi se 35Gears ments that have been made in your organization and ask: 1 What was the specific 7 Eiminat wae change that was made? stem gs at ae ote 7 Retun caseatns 2 What Was the doa used for 2 meat ty 6 Renae memesares hechange? 2 du oremt ore S Hse ama he es SC AMere o from whom did the & esis cor ot sen 10 Usesoming devon? 5 Reyoe ose 1. Charge ps rset pains Met ofthe change con 5, Use substation ‘cepts could generate that idea”? 8. Improve work tow 5: Can th ta be generalized vz grevon 18. snoomwortow for ther situations? 12 Samsun mule rcs 19 Dotacis impute 6 Would ane concept be we 12 tine ants 2 Caner ope sin Beane stem tut to describe this hea for {5 Mowstip'ne ocesseose pater 21 User poesairgunts change? 15, ntand eno ettocs 22 Kaj pk dad 17. Use automation 28 Change the order of steps, ‘TRIZ methodology C. Opin ientoy TRIZ is @ Russian acronym a ahaa pees rans 26 Rte les tears ancaning "ihe theory of the so [Us aut tne edie ute and ose ten thon ccinventive problems 0. ane he work oaamea The TRIZ methodotosy #s an 28, Give people access to Information ‘34, Invest more resources in improvement example of the use of concepts 29. Use proper measurements 135, Focus on core processes and purpose for finding creative solutions to 20. eee bans 28 Stas problems. Tae methodology 5 Ree darvrang asics says phase ntulaniogalensqunces || helps develop solutions based on 22 conse aig 22. Dowpaiancnenprtietonsps | | the principles and knowledge 2 Ingen osha that area part of ts database In © potiernaoner nee 1986, Genrikh Altshuller, 3 39. Listen to customers: 4. Reach agreement on expectations Russian inventor and creative 40, Coach customers to use productservice 44, Outsource for “free thinker, began developing a 4 foesonieoueamets seiner 4. Ope ee! of specin body of principles and Knowl £2 Us scooanatr oi sites edge tha lays Out a proces for ——e |] Solving. aitticute prabioms 7 fees ot tne 59, ted pats te Altshuler. who was employed a 48 Setup ing to use dscouts Reduce vattime Pa Parime ‘2, ine mtu Russian navy analyzed thou sands of patents and inventive 6. oa on vaaon soluioas rom diferent feds of eStart a ma £9, deep onan slrs Shuinecring He dncovered tht Sep ame 5 Sonat ges, Siten the came problem had 54 Deon otra inns 58. Desert Pe sed aren ech 55, Improve 53, Exploit variation cal fields using a core set of fun Fiemisttepet damental inventive pencpes ose enees £2 vsecorstains ‘The TRIZ speach was further 61 Use aereaton 6S, ae tones extended and used by nginces 1 Tas ote rate or tre fiver inte ome Sova 84. Mass nize Influence or take advantage of fashion trends Union and recently was intro- Ofer arsenic ay te Rete rmbt ongoen as aed in athe pars of the word er pacer ny Degas tects or probes ‘The methodology was inroduced 67. Emphasize intangibles Differentiate product using quality dimens in the United States during the last pe Th tren eset neste] J Sven years and has caught the ‘but the 71 change concepts listed are not meant (0 be original nor complete, There might also be other concepts that you ‘ould add, The important ching is that concepts for change are documented for easy re ‘and other concepts can now be Added to the list. The rate of improvement will accelerate as ‘people use the change concepts and develop and document new ‘ones, Some of the new concepts may prove more useful in a particular field, such as health care or education (One way to discover change concept i to study the improve- 36 aly Progress sacs 1008 interest of a number of major ‘companies, which now offer workshops on the TRIZ. methodol ‘ogy. Software recently has been developed to facilitate the use fof the method Allshuller and his associates observed that there are only 27 inventive principles (in other words, concepts) behind all exist- ing patents (see Figure 8), and that these principles address standard technical conflicts in design or problem solving. (Note that different versions of the principles have been presented in various documents.) The use of TRIZ helps solve technical conficts through the use of design con- cepts, which are by-products of stan- dard inventive principles. TRIZ is designed to help every engineer who uses tho approach become more inven: tive. TRIZ can take the engineer out of the bos of limited thinking and put hira ‘of her into a world of creative oF inven- tive thinking TRIZ incorporates three thought pat tems; evolution, contradiction, and ide ality. The analysis of patents identified the typical evorttion of technical ys tems. Contradiction deals with mutual ly exclusive demands, (A manufactur ing material, tor example, might need to be both stronger and lighter; TRIZ ‘demands creative solutions that empha size that combination, with no trade off.) The idea! technical system, according to the TRIZ ideolo- gy: isa system that does not actully exist, yet al of its func- tions are fulfilled. TRIZ. represents a well-developed approach to using con cepts to obtain creative solutions to problems and creative ‘signs for new products. The list of inventive principles con: tains concepts that are more technical and science based than the change concepts previously described. (Additional informs: tion on TRIZ can be found in the references.) Future use of concepts Specifie fools have been provided by de Bono and others that make it easy for us to use concepts in our improvement oF prob- fem-solving efforts. These tools, such as the concept triangle and the concept fan, can be used any time a more ereative approach is desired, G.J. Langley etal” ave developed list of change concepts that are applicable to all pes of design and redesign activities. The inventive principles of TRIZ use con- cepts o aid in invention and creative problem solving. But what ‘are the Future possibilities fr the use of concepts? The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (LHI) has incorpo rated the use of change concepts ino its large-scale collabora tive improvement efforts.” These projects, known as the Breakthrough Series. focus on improvements in specific med: ical areas such as eardiac surgery, delays and waiting times, asthma care, and cesarean section rates, among others. The Breakthrough Series approach is based on the premise that pre- vailing practices in the area of focus deviate from the best avail- tle Knowledge about the subject. To begin these collaboratives, groups of experts on the topic tre convened, Each expert group develops a set of ehange con- cepts specific to the topic of interest, These topic-specific change concepts are then taught 10 collaborative members and become the focus for developing spectic ideas for improve: ‘ment in the collaborative members’ organizations. Members use the Model for Improvement to test and implement speci changes developed from the change concepts. Examples of change concepts used in the Breakthrough Series on delays and ‘waiting are shown in Figure 9. Thinking about change Creativity is not its own reward. It is the use of creativity to Grane 1. dot 2. Change 3. Dottinadvance 4 Doo ite ss 6 a Matrsta insted das) Separate confit in tin Feplce special erm Incorpora Dyramzaton |Add magnetic powder SHielé modeling Set sera es of te physica property wth simple words nino one system 5. Fragmentation, consolidation Suc Mx, eat tg ae Susy ere ee aa a tes Shia Wn etek) Macrostuctur to microstructure Etec ofthe Corona sora of frromagnetic materas of varius etects ‘df the Masbius Ribbon 2 the Rotating Hyperbooa 20 a or space del ial resut (FB) Unkzation of soap bubbies ad foam Operator STC (Sue, Time Cost) Mode with Miniature Dwarts Make a copy and work witht Build a model of te problem 24 2% 25 m a magnetic fil Mo aT ee ee OL ele ue Ba eeu Aces Mae {Change concepts for system design 4 Do tasks in paral 2. Remave or rearange a step 3 Use muti processes 4. Give time fost 5 Use pul ystems 6 Synenrone toa commen point inte ‘Change concepts for system design 7. Tage 8 Combine services 8. Exingush dema 10, orate care 11, Promote stare 12, Smooth ew of work ‘Change concepts for matching caaciy to demand 1, Improve prenctons 14 Identity and manage 1, Workdown te backog 16, Bulanced centralized ad de 17. Use contingency ans constraint nralied| develop new ideas that leads to improvement that is meaning ful. A basic element of thinking—concepts—plays a crucial role in this use of creativity. As discussed, three creative think- ing methods that focus on concepts include the concept triangle, the concept Fan, and change concepts, Change concepts come in many forms and are evolutionary. ‘TRIZ incorporates the use of concepts into @ methodology for enhancing engineering creativity. HHI has made the use of change concepts a critical component of its Breakthrough Series. The successes documented in both of these approaches ilustrate the benefits of incorporating the use of concepts into innovation and improvement activities. As organizations become more aware of the need for ereative ideas in their improvement efforts, concepts will play an important role in critical and creative thinking about change. References tatty ropesstacs 198 3738 ay oe 8 |. Provost and R. Sproul, "Creativity and Improvement: Vita Link,” Quality Progress, August 1996, p. 101-107. 2 GI. Langley. KML Nolan, and TW. Nolan, “The Foundation of| Improvement." Quality Progress, June 1994, p. 81:86. 5. Edward de Bono, Serious Creativity (New York, NY: Harper Business, 1992), “4 bid. 5 Thi 6.G. Langley, K. Nolan. T. Nolan, C. Norman, and L. Provost, The Improvement Guide: A Practical Approach to Enhancing (Organizaional Performance San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1996). Tb 8. H. Alioy, The Art of Inventing: And Suddenly the Inventor Appeared, translated and adapted by Lev Shulyak (Worcester, MA- ‘Technical Innovation Centr, 1994), '9.GS, Alshuller, Creativity as an Exact Science: The Theory ofthe Solution of inventive Problems translated by Anthony Williams (New York, NY: Gordon and Breach, 1984). 10. S.D. Savtansky and C. Stephan, “TRIZ: Methodology of Inventive Problem Solving.” The Indusral Physicist, December 1996, pp 22.25, 11. Langley, Nolan, Nola, Nooman, and Provost, The Improvement Guide: A Practical Approach to Enhancing Organizational Performance. 12. B. Staton, “ASQC/IH! Organize Local Groups to Prevent Movor Vehicle Injuries" Quality Progress, ne 1996.16 13, Langley, Nolan, Nolan, Norman, and Provost, The Improvement Guide® A Practical Approack to Enhancing Organizational Performance. Bibliogranhy {de Bono, Edward, Sur/Petition (New York. NY: Harper Business, 1992) Deming, W. Edwards, The New Economics (Cambridge, MA. ‘Massachusets Institute of Technology, Center for Advanced Engineering Sty, 1993) Deming, W. Edwards, Out of the Crisis (Cambridge, MA. “Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Center for Advanced Enginocring Study, 1982), Hall, Rober W. Auaining Manyfacoring Excellence (win, WL: Dow ‘Jones, 1987), Haramer, Michael, and James Champy, Reengineering the Corporation (New York, NY: Harper Cols, 1993), Iai, Masaak, Karzen: The Key 10 Japan's Competitive Success (New York, NY: Random House Business Division, 1986). Joiner, Brian L., Fours Generation Management (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, re, 1994) Juran, IM. editor, Quality Control Handbook, thst edition (New ‘York, NY: McGraw-Hill Bok Company, 1979, ‘Norman, Donald. Psycholingy of Everyday Tings (New York, NY: Basie Books, Harper Collis. 1988), Schonberger Richard J, World Class Manufacturing (New York, NY: “The Fee Press, 1996), Lioya P. Provost is a consultant with Associates in Process Improvement in Ausin, TX. He eared a master's degre in satistics froma the Universty of Flora in Gainesville. Provost sa senior mem bor ofthe American Society for Quality sald J. Langley is a consultant with Associates in Process Improvement in Cameron Park, CA, He eamed 2 masters degree in Statistics from North Carolina State University in Raleigh. Langley 3 ‘member ofthe American Society for Quali «© 1998 American Society for Quality. Reprinted with permission.