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Creativity

Vitor Santosvsantos@novaims.unl.pt

Métodos de Empreendedorismo

Programa Doutoral em Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores

FCT-UNL – 15Fev2018

Ideas vs Innovation

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InnovationIdeas ?Generating ideas

Gap

Improvement

Integration

New

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Creativity ????

Are we all +/- creative? (or not ???)

4 2010

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Generate new ideas ?

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Where to start ?

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The 1st problem is

know what the (true) problem is ...

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Create ... .what? and about what?

• Passion? - What I love• An area ? - What interests me• An idea ? - what I want to do• A story ? - What is the narrative?• A business ? How do I earn $• Grow up ? - who I am• A masterpiece ? - what interaction and

perspective• …….

I already have a problem .... and now, what to do?

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Houston, We Have a Problem.

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Focus

Generic problems usually give generic solutions - difficult to implement

Framing the Problem

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Problem Vague Undefined Too big Not focused on the

user / client

Scope Who, What, Where,

When, What, Dimension?

Focused on the user / client

Definition of the problem Focused on the user /

client Clear Detailed Manageable

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Build the relationship diagram

• Write the critical problem in the center

• Ask "Why?" To establish the first level causes

• Ask "Why?" To establish second-level causes

• Repeat

• Linking the "post-it"

• External causes are potential primary causes

Root Causes

Root Causes

Diagram

of relationships

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Customers experience delay

during sign-in at 9.00 a.m.

Too many customersin reception at 9.00 a.m.

Poorly trained

receptionists

Poor, slow or faulty equipment

Sign-in process too complex

Receptionists can’t contact people

People making phone calls

Too many meetings starting at 09.00

Too few receptionists

Contractual Issuewith supplier

Contractual Issue with supplier

Too many meetings starting at 09.00

People making phone calls

Poor, slow or faultyequipment

Sign-in process too complex

Relations Diagram

Diagram of relationships

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How to reuse second hand clothing still in good condition and

distribute it to people who need it?

We do not know where thepoor people are

There is no wayto know what clothes they

need

It's easier and quicker to put clothes in the trash

There is no process to collect clothes at

our house.

The people in needdo not identify

Some people are ashamed

of assuming the need

NGOs do not provide this information

There is noLocal registration

There is a legal problem insave this info

There is a legal problem insave this info

NGOs do not provide this information

Some people are ashamed

of assuming the need

It's easier and quicker to put clothes in the trash

There is no process to collect clothes at

our house.

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Creative Thinking

Basic principles of Edison

• Question all assumptions

• Generate as many ideas as possible

• Analyze the failures

• Adapt ideas from others

• Register all ideas

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Thomas's mother had three children. One was called April. One of them was called May. What is the name of the third?

What has four fingers and a thumb but it is not the hand or the foot?

What's white when it's dirty and black when it's clean?

What is it that when dry gets wet?

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Find solutions

List & Attributes Provocative

SCAMPER

Idea Box

Reversal

Phoenix

Slice & Dice

etc.

False Faces

Cherry Split

Stone Soup

etc.

Randomisers Intuitive

Brutethink

WhiteBoard

Circle of Opportunity

etc.

Blue Roses

Dali's Technique

Da Vinci's Technique

etc.

"Thinkertoys - A Handbook of Business Creativity" by Michael Michalko

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Mixing apples and pears.…

BrutethinkBrutethink is an aid to lateral thinking and creativity. Primarily it is expected to be used to help devise alternative solutions, but some teams may also find it useful to help identify root causes for their problem.

Brutethink is a good tool to use when the team has made good progress but appears to have run out of ideas. We should be aware that it may impact team motivation if team morale is getting low and some team members have become cynical. Its use benefits significantly from having an experienced facilitator.

Pick a random word or thing Think of attributes/qualities of your random item. List them below. List most likely root causes and CTC (as problem statement). Force connections. Write down your idea

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As Edison said …

Adapt ideas from others

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SCAMPER

• SCAMPER is a technique for looking atpossible transformations that you couldapply to a product or process. Looking atthese transformations can help youidentify “out-of-the-box” approaches bylooking at the problem from differentperspectives. It is particularly useful whereconventional approaches to the problemmay already have been triedunsuccessfullyVitor Santos 24 2017

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SCAMPER

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It is a good example of a very elaborate technique, which resorts to questions directed to which one responds with attention to the problem, in order to lead to the generation of new ideas.

The stimulus comes from creating responses to issues that would not normally arise.

This technique was created by Bob Eberle and made popular by Michael Michałko.

It is particularly suitable for analyzing the possible transformations of applying to a product or process, for example a game ...

Exercise - Creativity

• IndividualProduct/process ?

USE S+C+A+M+P+E+R

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OK, the techniques are very important !!! but…

… being creative is also a matter of attitude ….

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Lastly

Dealing with Challenges

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Passion

Courage

Self-criticism

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“I love him who creates above himself and thus walks to his doom!”

Nietzsche

THANK YOU

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