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Lecture
Oct 19, 2006

Creativity- Can it be Engineered?

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Present at all stages of the Process e.g., Consider Process
front end

Identifying Customer Needs
Establishing Target Specs
Analysis of Competitive products
Concept generation
Concept selection
Spec Refinement
Economic Analysis
Project Planning

Here we do the concept generation as part of a seamless
process after contextual information has been generated.

Creativity
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What is our problem level?
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Where to look for Breakthroughs
Developed World
Rapidly evolving underlying or enabling technology
(Computers, Biotech)
Clearly recognizable problem with current products (e.g. air
bags, traffic congestion, personal device profusion)
Bottleneck products (clothes dryers)
Bottleneck parts (e.g. batteries)

Developing World
Niche areas in developing countries which have not gotten
attention
Exploit diffusion lag of new technologies into developing
countries
Breakthrough in Product Development Process?
Product which serve areas of rapid social/economic change
(meet new needs)
Other
Involving NGOs effectively
100% barrier

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How would you classify Micro-lending?
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The formulation of a problem is far more
essential than its solution which may be
merely a matter of mathematical or
experimental skill
- Albert Einstein

Ask what problem you are trying to solve!
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Trial and Error
What major industry still
roughly depends on Trial
and Error?
Is Trial and Error
appropriate for Developing
World Products?
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Creativity- The Idea Generation Process
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What drives your A hah
Process
Association?
Necessity?
Showers, commutes?
Explaining the problem to others?
Conversation?
Random?
Other
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Can this be structured?
Can you organize the generation of new ideas?
Clarify the problem
What are you trying to solve?
Study
Previous attempts
What went wrong
What went right
published literature
People who have been there/done that
Benchmark related products
Look for what they solve
What they dont solve
Brainstorm
Explore systematically
Choose most likely paths
Keep track of paths not chosen

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Brainstorming
Organize virtually
Led by a Facilitator
Introduce the need clearly
No bad ideas no judgement
Include even apparently infeasible ideas
Go around table and generate the maximum
number of new ideas
Announce them
Post them (on computer)
Categorize them
Pareto them

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Generating solution concepts
Break into constituent problems
Make analogies
Wish and wonder to the extremities
Related stimuli
each generates his/her own and then shares
Set quantitative targets for number of new ideas
Display ideas and observe on line
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Pruning and Classification
Prune the idea matrix of unpromising
directions
Look for distinguishable approaches
Refinement of ideas of selected branches
Pareto (list in order of priority) through
matrix
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Voting and Decision Making
Kepner Tregoe Matrix

Criteria Score (S)
out of 10 based on
agreed criteria
Weight
(W)
out of 10
based on
relative
importance
Product
P = (S)x(W)
Ranking

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2
3
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Example
voting and decision making
Kepner Tregoe Matrix for UV/Ozone systems Mary Ollenburger, Jess
Reynolds, Hesper Rego, Gustavo Olm, Ross Losher


Item Score (S)
out of 5 based
on agreed
criteria
Weight
(W)
out of 5
based on
relative
importance
Product
P =
(S)x(W)
Ranking

Cost
1.5 5 7.5 3
Maintenance
3 4 12 2
Power Required
1 3 3 3
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Kepner Tregoe Matrix for Chemical Treatment

Item Score (S)
out of 5 based
on agreed
criteria
Weight
(W)
out of 5
based on
relative
importance
Product
P =
(S)x(W)
Ranking

Cost
2 5 10 2
Maintenance
1 4 4 3
Power Required
5 3 15 Tied - 1
voting and decision making
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Kepner Tregoe Matrix for Slow Sand Filtration

Item Score (S)
out of 5 based
on agreed
criteria
Weight
(W)
out of 5
based on
relative
importance
Product
P =
(S)x(W)
Ranking

Cost
5 5 25 1
Maintenance
4 4 16 1
Power Required
5 3 15 Tied - 1
voting and decision making
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why slow sand filtration?
It is a low energy consuming process
Maintenance is minimal
Systems are easy to build and install
Costs of building and running significantly
lower than other purification methods
We choose slow sand filtration.
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Alternative method
Decision Making by Voting to get the optimum choice
For n people to choose the best of m alternatives
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2
3
4
5
6
m
Each selects their 1,2 and 3 choice
Award 3 points for each first choice, 2 points for each second choice
and 1 point for each third place. Sum scores for each alternative.
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Brainstorming Exercise
Tele-Vugraph machine
What is the best method for presenting material for the purpose of
communication from a distance in the most convenient way?
A quiet way to remove leaves from the driveway
A simple methodology for stabilizing a hillside
A new way of generating clean energy for the home
One of your projects
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Brainstorming Exercise
Remember
No constraints
Little (preferably none) giggling, snorting, eyes rolling
Everybody contributes
Process
Everybody writes down ideas on paper
We go around the room and you read off your idea
Jeff records
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Big Stroller
Wheelbarrow
Room-to-Room Pulley System
Adult Wound Spring System, Child Activated
360-degree skateboard
Hand operated tricycle
Lying on Stomach, grab objects around you to move
Child-Seat
Much lighter than adult version, should not require strain on hands for
braking
3-wheel footprint w/ castor
Chair suspended by hot-air balloon
Tray attached to vehicle to restrain/entertain the user
Stretch cloth over rigid metal of wheelbarrow, provides comfortable
hammock-seat
Sell a bunch of 360-degree castors to attach to vehicles
3-wheel scooter, front wheel turnable, back two connected to a hand-
crank
Modeled after a shopping carts child seat
Side-car that could be attached to a bike
Cart that trails behind a bike

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Motorized baby-walker
Wheelbarrow that is accessible to a child
Harness that makes them easier to carry, or system of hitch-hiking that allows
coordinated rides
Baby-Tank (Conveyer belt) Fun for a child
Motorized shopping carts
Safety Helmet
Grid of rails throughout house, allows user to pull themselves around
Ski-pole propulsion
Detachable Net allows for wheelbarrow to be used for two purposes
Bright Colors
School Considerations, include place on device for books, lunch, etc.
Human-sized Hamster Ball (With Seat on a gimble)
Storage Bin attached to device so that the person moving the end-user around can carry
additional things
Stretcher
Hammock that could be carried by two people
Toboggan
System of zip-lines
Crutches
Easily Washable
Dog-pulled cart
Protection from elements
Three-wheeled front stroller with detachable front wheel, could then be attached to a
bicycle
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Categories
1. Free vs. Fixed Mobility Path
1. Parent: Free, Restricted?
2. Child: Free
2. Sitting up vs. Lying down
1. Parent: Sitting up
2. Child: Sitting up
3. Self vs. Outside Propelled (or both?)
1. Parent: Self is preferable, but outside may be necessary.
2. Child:
4. Multi-Functional vs. Specific Purpose
1. Specific Purpose with modular add-ons?
5. Stroller-Type
1. Pushed from behind, on wheels
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Next Weeks lecture subject
Architecture!
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HW The Creative Process

Write the problem statement. Best you
can do!
Brainstorm! Come up with >5 new
concepts for your product
4 Ps but emphasize the first P (product)
Pare the list down to the best using
Kepner Tregoe or voting
Describe how you think the creative
process worked in your team. (and/or
didnt work)