Chapter 6- Concept Generation
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
6.1 INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE THINKING 6.1.1 Models of the Brain and Creativity
The Id is the unorganized part of the personality structure that contains a human's basic, instinctual drives. It is the source of our bodily needs, wants, desires, and impulses, particularly our sexual and aggressive drives.
The Ego acts according to the reality principle
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
6.1 INTRODUCTION TO CREATIVE THINKING 6.1.1 Models of the Brain and Creativity
Brain-Dominance Theory (Roger Sperry, Nobel prize)
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
6.2 CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING
Creative thinkers are distinguished by their ability to synthesize new combinations of ideas and concepts into meaningful and useful forms.
A creative engineer is one who produces a lot of ideas. These can be completely original ideas inspired by a discovery. More often, creative ideas result from putting existing ideas together in novel ways.
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
6.2 CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING 6.2.1 Aids to Creative Thinking
Develop a creative attitude : Although you may not visualize the
complete path through to the final solution at the time you first tackle a problem, you must have self-confidence; you must believe that a solution will develop before you are finished. Of course, confidence comes with success, so start small and build your confidence up with small successes.
Unlock your imagination : You must rekindle the vivid imagination
you had as a child. One way to do so is to begin to question again. Ask “why” and “what if,” even at the risk of displaying a bit of naivety. Scholars of the creative process have developed thought games that are designed to provide practice in unlocking your
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
6.2 CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING 6.2.1 Aids to Creative Thinking
Be persistent : Creativity often requires hard work. Most problems
will not succumb to the first attack. They must be pursued with persistence. After all, Edison tested over 6000 materials before he discovered the species of bamboo that acted as a successful filament for the incandescent light bulb. It was also Edison who made the famous comment, “Invention is 95 percent perspiration and 5 percent inspiration.”
Develop an open mind : Having an open mind means being
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
6.2 CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING 6.2.1 Aids to Creative Thinking
Suspend your judgment : We have seen that creative ideas
develop slowly, but nothing inhibits the creative process more than critical judgment of an emerging idea. Engineers, by nature, tend toward critical attitudes, so special forbearance is required to avoid judgment at an early stage of conceptual design.
Set problem boundaries : We place great emphasis on proper
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
6.2 CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING 6.2.1 Aids to Creative Thinking
Simple four-stage model of creative thinking process
Preparation (stage 1): The elements of the problem are examined and their interrelations are studied.
Incubation (stage 2): You “sleep on the problem.” Sleep disengages your conscious mind, allowing the unconscious mind to work on a problem freely.
Inspiration (stage 3): A solution or a path toward the solution emerges.
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
6.2 CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING 6.2.2 Barriers to Creative Thinking
Perceptual Blocks
Stereotyping: Thinking conventionally or in a formulaic way
about an event, person, or way of doing something. Not thinking “out of the box.”
Information overload : Cognitively this is a situation of engaging
all the available short-term memory so that there is no time for related searches in long-term memory.
Limiting the problem unnecessarily : Broad statements of the
problem help keep the mind open to a wider range of ideas.
Fixation: People’s thinking can be influenced so greatly by their
previous experience or some other bias that they are not able to sufficiently recognize alternative ideas.
Priming or provision of cues: If the thinking process is started by
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
6.2 CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING 6.2.2 Barriers to Creative Thinking
Emotional Blocks
Fear of risk taking: Truly creative people must be comfortable with
taking risks.
Unease with chaos : People in general, and many engineers in
particular, are uncomfortable with highly unstructured situations.
Unable or unwilling to incubate new ideas : In our busy lives, we
often don’t take the time to let ideas lie dormant so they can incubate properly.
Motivation: Highly creative individuals do this more for personal
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
6.2 CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING 6.2.2 Barriers to Creative Thinking
Cultural Blocks
- Poor choice of problem-solving language or problem
representation (mathematical, verbal, or a visual mode?)
- Memory block: A common form of blocking is maintaining a
particular search path through memory because of the false belief that it will lead to a solution.
- Insufficient knowledge base
- Incorrect information
Intellectual Blocks: Intellectual blocks arise from a poor choice of the problem-solving strategy or having inadequate background and knowledge.
Environmental Blocks
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
6.3 CREATIVE THINKING METHODS
Over 150 creativity improvement methods have been cataloged. These methods are aimed at improving the following characteristics of the problem solver:
Sensitivity: The ability to recognize that a problem exists
Fluency: The ability to produce a large number of alternative
solutions to a problem
Flexibility: The ability to develop a wide range of approaches to a
problem
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
Chapter 6- Concept Generation
6.3 CREATIVE THINKING METHODS 6.3.1 Brainstorming
- To achieve a good brainstorming session, it is important to carefully define the problem at the start => help us to avoid wasting time generating solutions to the wrong problem. It is also necessary to allow a short period for individuals to think through the problem quietly and on their own before starting the group process
- It has been found that the first 10 or so ideas will not be the most fresh and creative, so it is critical to get at least 30 to 40 ideas from your session.
- The evaluation of your ideas should be done at a meeting on a day soon after the brainstorming session. This removes any fear that criticism or evaluation is coming soon and keeps the brainstorming meeting looser, allows incubation time for more ideas…
6.3.1 Brainstorming
Reverse brainstorming: think of all the possible limitations or
shortcomings of the product
6.3.1 Brainstorming
- Read aloud the first SCAMPER question.
- Write down ideas or sketch ideas that are stimulated by the question.
- Rephrase the question and apply it to the other aspects of the problem.
- Continue applying the questions until the ideas cease to flow.
To mitigate the mental blocks in some team members (e.g., unease with chaos, fear of criticism, and perpetuation of incorrect assumptions) that dampen creativity, a team can conduct a
6.3.2 Idea Generating Techniques Beyond Brainstorming Six Key Questions
Journalism students are taught to ask six simple questions to ensure that they have covered the entire story. These same questions can be used to help you approach the problem from different angles.
Who? Who uses it, wants it, will benefit by it?
What? What happens if X occurs? What resulted in success? What resulted in failure?
When? Can it be speeded up or slowed down? Is sooner better than later?
Where? Where will X occur? Where else is possible?
Why? Why is this done? Why is that particular rule, action, solution, problem, failure involved?
6.3.2 Idea Generating Techniques Beyond Brainstorming Five Whys
The Five Whys technique is used to get to the root of a problem. It is based on the premise that it is not enough to just ask why one time. For example:
Why has the machine stopped? A fuse blew because of fan overload.
Why was there an overload? There was inadequate lubrication for the bearings.
Why wasn’t there enough lubrication? The lube pump wasn’t working.
Why wasn’t the pump working? The pump shaft was vibrating because it had worn due to abrasion.
6.3.2 Idea Generating Techniques Beyond Brainstorming Checklists
6.3.2 Idea Generating Techniques Beyond Brainstorming
Fantasy or Wishful Thinking
A strong block to creativity is the mind’s tenacious grip on reality. One way to stimulate creativity is to entice the mind to think in a flight of fancy, in the hope of bringing out really creative ideas. This can be done by posing questions in an “invitational way” so as to encourage an upbeat, positive climate for idea generation. Typical questions would be:
Wouldn’t be nice if . . . . ?
What I really want to do is . . . .
If I did not have to consider cost, . . . I wish . . .
6.3.3 Random Input Technique (Edward de Bono)
The random input technique are applied not only to random words but also works with objects or pictures. Ideas can be stimulated by reading technical journals in fields other than your own, or by attending technical meetings and trade shows in fields far from your own.
6.3.4 Synectics: An Inventive Method Based on Analogy
Synectics recognizes four types of analogy: (1) direct analogy, (2) fantasy analogy, (3) personal analogy, and (4) symbolic analogy.
Direct analogy : The designer searches for the closest physical
analogy to the situation at hand. Example, In describing the motion of electrons about the nucleus of an atom it is common to use the analogy of the moon’s rotation about Earth or Earth’s rotation about our sun. The analogy is direct because in each system there are matched physical objects behaving the same way—rotating about a central object.
6.3.4 Synectics: An Inventive Method Based on Analogy
Fantasy analogy : The designer disregards all problem limitations
and laws of nature, physics, or reason. Instead, the designer imagines or wishes for the perfect solution to a problem. For example, suppose you enter a large parking lot on a cold, windy, and rainy day, only to discover that you have forgotten where your car is parked. In a perfect world, you could wish your car to materialize in front of you or to turn itself on and drive to where you are standing when you call it =>>>????
Personal analogy : The designer imagines that he or she is the
device being designed, associating his or her body with the device or the process under consideration.
Symbolic analogy : This is perhaps the least intuitive of the
6.3.5 Concept Map
A concept map is good for generating and recording ideas during
brainstorming. Because it is a visual method instead of a verbal one, it encourages right-brained thinking.
6.4 FUNCTIONAL DECOMPOSITION AND SYNTHESIS
The overall function may be defined but for complex design
problems no single concept can provide the solution.
6.4FUNCTIONAL DECOMPOSITION AND SYNTHESIS
Finding the Overall Function: The One-Handed Bar Clamp:
transform the grip force of one hand to a controllable force capable of clamping common objects together
Finding the Overall Function: The X-Ray CT Scanner: the top-level function is “convert electrical energy into an image of the organs of a patient.”
6.4 FUNCTIONAL DECOMPOSITION AND SYNTHESIS
6.4FUNCTIONAL DECOMPOSITION AND SYNTHESIS
6.4 FUNCTIONAL DECOMPOSITION AND SYNTHESIS
6.5 CREATIVE METHODS FOR DESIGN
The primary purpose of the refinement and evaluation step in concept generation is the identification of creative, feasible, yet still practical ideas. (Convergent thinking dominates this process.)
6.5 CREATIVE METHODS FOR DESIGN 6.5.2 Generating Design Concepts
Generative design is a design strategy that creates many feasible
6.5 CREATIVE METHODS FOR DESIGN 6.5.3 Systematic Methods for Designing
6.5 CREATIVE METHODS FOR DESIGN
Example: The One-Handed Bar Clamp
6.5 CREATIVE METHODS FOR DESIGN
6.5 CREATIVE METHODS FOR DESIGN
Example: The One-Handed Bar Clamp
6.5 CREATIVE METHODS FOR DESIGN
Example: The One-Handed Bar Clamp
6.5 CREATIVE METHODS FOR DESIGN
