SCAMPER

If you’re brainstorming tangible ideas for technical projects with fixed goals, your search ends at SCAMPER. This brainstorming method proposed by Alex Osborn is a great way to improve an existing product or create a new one.

SCAMPER is an acronym, with each letter standing for a way of modifying a product:

• Substitute (S): Can you substitute a part of your product with something else?
• Combine (C): Can you combine some or all of your existing features?
• Adapt (A): Are there other products that could be used to achieve the same goal as your product?
• Modify (M): Can you modify some or all aspects of your product?
• Put to other uses (P): Can your product be used for other things than how you intended for it to be used?
• Eliminate (E): Can you get rid of any features or components of your product?
• Rearrange/Reverse (R): Can you interchange the components or sequence of your product?

To conduct a SCAMPER session, divide a large wall or board into 7 halves titled S, C, A, M, P, E, and R. Allocate time for participants to brainstorm individual ideas under each section and ask them to post it up under the respective wall section. Then, go over these ideas as a group, form clusters out of similar ideas, and prioritize them.