CHECKLIST

Checklists (e.g. the telephone book categories) are a useful tool to encourage ideation. There are different types of checklists, but Alex Osborn’s checklist is the most common one. It is a series of about seventy questions designed to stimulate new ideas. Hereunder you can find some of these questions:

Put to other uses? Look for other possible uses for a product, production waste, etc.

Example 1

“Neoprene used by DuPont has come to such a level thanks to its thousand new uses; some of these uses could be found out only going blindly on. For example, a doll producer covered some of his products with a magical skin made of neoprene, whose colour looked so natural that every little girl felt like holding a real baby. A toy producer made dog bones made of chocolate flavoured neoprene. The list is quite long indeed...” (Osborn, 1992)

What else is like this?…What other idea does this suggest? Try to improve the existing material.

“[...] Through the adaptation system, new styles and new products have been created. Rudolf Diesel wanted the fuel to burn directly in the engine cylinders but did not know how to set the fuel on fire. Among the various analogies which came to his mind there was also a cigarette-lighter. He chose to examine a cigarette-lighter with the following patterns: (1) the cylinder contained air and fuel; (2) a piston pressed the air contained in the cylinder; (3) as a result, fuel was set on fire. Starting from this parallel, he devised the first Diesel engine in 1892.” (Osborn,1992)

Who else could do this sort of job?…Could we cut costs through mass-production?
Such questions triggered ideas that improved the people living standard.

What about a new twist?…How can we improve it?...What about a different approach?...How can we modify it? You can slightly change the production process and obtain noticeable improvements or you can simply modify the product shape...

How can we make it more appealing? Colours, mouvements, sounds...use them to make a particular product more attractive.

“An ever increasing number of industrial machines producers wonder “what colour suits them best”. Once almost all machines were black, while more recent machines are bright and do not absorb the same light. In many factories this change led to an increased production, less waste and a better environment...” (Osborn, 1992)

What can be replaced?…What else instead? Look for new components to generate ideas.

What to add?...What about making it larger? Add or multiply to magnify and subtract or divide to minify. These operations offer a number of “possibilities”.

What to subtract?…Why not reducing some parts? Subtract some parts or even some product unities.

Can we rearrange components?…How can two pieces be combined? Look for new solutions by rearranging the components.

Another order?...What follows what?...What about changing their position? Look for new solutions by rearranging the components.

Which ideas or materials can we combine?…What about making a set or a selection?

Bertone (1993) regards checklists as very useful tools to improve the company internal organization. He states that the search for improvement opportunities within a company is a fundamental activity; neverthless, unlike Japanese companies, western companies often overlook this fact.
According to a research conducted by the Soken Research Institute of Tokyo in 1984 (see table 3-2), Bertone suggests to use some techniques (e.g.checklists) which help to improve a company internal structure.

Table 3-2: Research by the Soken Research Institute of Tokyo (1984) (Source: Bertone, 1993)

[Source: www.mycoted.com]
[Source: http://members.optusnet.com.au/~charles57/Creative]

CLASS	A
PHASE	Idea Generation, Internal Mapping, Evaluation
DESCRIPTION	Checklists (e.g. the telephone book categories) are a useful tool to encourage ideation. There are different types of checklists, but Alex Osborn’s checklist is the most common one. It is a series of about seventy questions designed to stimulate new ideas. Hereunder you can find some of these questions: Put to other uses? Look for other possible uses for a product, production waste, etc. Example 1 “Neoprene used by DuPont has come to such a level thanks to its thousand new uses; some of these uses could be found out only going blindly on. For example, a doll producer covered some of his products with a magical skin made of neoprene, whose colour looked so natural that every little girl felt like holding a real baby. A toy producer made dog bones made of chocolate flavoured neoprene. The list is quite long indeed...” (Osborn, 1992) What else is like this?…What other idea does this suggest? Try to improve the existing material. “[...] Through the adaptation system, new styles and new products have been created. Rudolf Diesel wanted the fuel to burn directly in the engine cylinders but did not know how to set the fuel on fire. Among the various analogies which came to his mind there was also a cigarette-lighter. He chose to examine a cigarette-lighter with the following patterns: (1) the cylinder contained air and fuel; (2) a piston pressed the air contained in the cylinder; (3) as a result, fuel was set on fire. Starting from this parallel, he devised the first Diesel engine in 1892.” (Osborn,1992) Who else could do this sort of job?…Could we cut costs through mass-production? Such questions triggered ideas that improved the people living standard. What about a new twist?…How can we improve it?...What about a different approach?...How can we modify it? You can slightly change the production process and obtain noticeable improvements or you can simply modify the product shape... How can we make it more appealing? Colours, mouvements, sounds...use them to make a particular product more attractive. “An ever increasing number of industrial machines producers wonder “what colour suits them best”. Once almost all machines were black, while more recent machines are bright and do not absorb the same light. In many factories this change led to an increased production, less waste and a better environment...” (Osborn, 1992) What can be replaced?…What else instead? Look for new components to generate ideas. What to add?...What about making it larger? Add or multiply to magnify and subtract or divide to minify. These operations offer a number of “possibilities”. What to subtract?…Why not reducing some parts? Subtract some parts or even some product unities. Can we rearrange components?…How can two pieces be combined? Look for new solutions by rearranging the components. Another order?...What follows what?...What about changing their position? Look for new solutions by rearranging the components. Which ideas or materials can we combine?…What about making a set or a selection? Bertone (1993) regards checklists as very useful tools to improve the company internal organization. He states that the search for improvement opportunities within a company is a fundamental activity; neverthless, unlike Japanese companies, western companies often overlook this fact. According to a research conducted by the Soken Research Institute of Tokyo in 1984 (see table 3-2), Bertone suggests to use some techniques (e.g.checklists) which help to improve a company internal structure. Table 3-2: Research by the Soken Research Institute of Tokyo (1984) (Source: Bertone, 1993) [Source: www.mycoted.com] [Source: http://members.optusnet.com.au/~charles57/Creative]
CORRELATE TECHNIQUES	BRAINSTORMING EXAGGERATION IMPLEMENTATION CHECKLIST SCAMPER
REFERENCES	Osborn A.F., L'arte della creativity, Milano, Franco Angeli, 1992, ed. orig. del 1953. Bertone V., Creatività aziendale. Metodi, tecniche e casi per valorizzare il potenziale creativo di manager e imprenditori, Milano, Franco Angeli, 1993. Michalko M., Thinkertoys: A Handbook of Business Creativity, Berkeley, California, Ten Speed Press, 1991.