IDEATION TECHNIQUES FOR

INDIVIDUAL
Week 10 of Creative Thinking in Business
 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business

IDEATION TECHNIQUES
INTRODUCTION

2 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business

ANALOGY FOR IDEATION

• Ideation is like playing hide and seek.

You must search relentlessly even at
those places that you rarely be.

• Ideation is like to set foot on a planet

that newly discovered. Almost
everything feels odd and strange.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

3 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business MODES OF THINKING IN IDEATION

DIVERGENT THINKING CONVERGENT THINKING

• Defer judgment • Be systematic

• Think of as many ideas as you can • Clarify and make known your
• Be receptive to all ideas evaluation criteria
• Push to diverge as much as possible • Avoid premature closure on data
• Allow ideas to incubate • Be realistic about your problem
• Look for ways to modify or otherwise • Avoid the “killer instinct”
combine ideas • Dont lose sight of where you are going

4 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business

DIVERGENT VS. CONVERGENT

• In ideation, we need both divergent

and convergent thinking in different
times
• We go for divergent thinking to
generate as many ideas as possible
• Then, we use convergent thinking to
select ideas by using methods that
stimulate convergent thinking

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

5 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business PROVOCATION
• Provocation is needed to stimulate Ideation
our mind to think the unthinkable. Techniques
Therefore, some of the ideas
generated are weird or even crazy Reversed Assumptions
• There are so many ideation
techniques developed by scientist,
Morphological Analysis
psychologist, consultant and
business practioners
• Each of the provocation method Synectics
has its own situational advantages
and disadvantages. So, choose
wisely. Brainstorming

6 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business

REVERSED ASSUMPTIONS
IDEATION TECHNIQUE 1

7 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business GREAT BUSINESS THAT REVERSING ASSUMPTIONS
Telkom University

In San Diego Hills, you can be dead and In San Diego Hills, you can be dead and
cool at the same time! cool at the same time!

8 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business STEPS OF REVERSED ASSUMPTIONS

List all of your assumptions

about an idea (e.g. restaurant)

Reverse every assumptions you

just made!

Try to make every reversed

assumptions work!

Select the best idea by applying

certain criteria (e.g. practicality)

9 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business EXAMPLE OF REVERSED ASSUMPTIONS
Telkom University
List assumption
• It has menus
• Menus have prices
• It serves foods and drinks

Reverse
• Restaurant without menus
• Restaurant that give foods away for free
• Restaurant that doesn’t provide any foods

Make it work
• Creative chef who make whatever ordered by the customers
• Cafe that charge for leisure time and not for the foods or drinks
• A unique-decorated restaurant that only rent the space and atmosphere

Best ideas
• A unique-decorated restaurant that only rent the space and atmosphere. So people
can bring their own food and cook.

10 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business NOW IT’S YOUR TURN TO REVERSE THE ASSUMPTIONS
Telkom University

Museum Hospital Hotel School

Create a business that is the result of reversing the assumptions of the above
themes!

11 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business THANK YOU
Telkom University

QUESTIONS?

12 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business

GENERAL MORPHOLOGICAL
ANALYSIS
IDEATION TECHNIQUE 2

13 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business GENERAL MORPHOLOGYCAL ANALYSIS (GMA)

“Morphological analysis is simply

an ordered way of looking at
things”

(Zwicky, 1948)

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

14 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business

GMA: EXPLANATIONS
• GMA was developed in the late 1940’s by Fritz
Zwicky at the California Institute of Technology
• Morphology is the adaptation to a term from
Greek, that is “morphe” or shape or form. GMA help us to solve problem by developing new ideas by
• Essentially, GMA is a method for identifying and considering every available combination of components in
investigating the total set of possible the solution space
relationships contained in given problem.
• GMA mostly used to study structural
relationship between parts or aspects of an
object (tangible or intangible).
• Ideally, the problem should have two or three
dimensions to permit the construction
of two-dimensional or three-dimensional grids.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

From: Proctor (2014) 15 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business GMA: EXPLANATIONS

• The point of GMA is to examine all of the

configurations in the field, in order to
establish which of them are possible,
viable, practical, interesting, and which
are not.
• In doing this, we mark out in the field a
relevant solution space.
• The solution space of a Zwickian
morphological field consists of the subset
of all the possible configurations which
satisfy some criteria. This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

• The primary criterion is internal Let’s try to use “ride sharing” as the
consistency of the solution space problem to be solved by using GMA

From: Alvarez and Ritchey (2015) 16 Creating the great business leaders
 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business STEPS OF GMA

1. Possible dimensions are listed that

describe the problem or system being “No more than three dimensions can be
studied.
2. A list of attributes is then generated under represented diagrammatically, and they must be
each dimension. relevant and have a logical interrelationship”
3. Examine combinations of attributes across
the dimensions, however unusual or
impractical they may seem.
4. A cross may be put in a box if the
combination is used at present and a circle
(zero) if it is a potential one worth
pursuing.
5. Promising ideas are then subsequently
evaluated for their suitability.

From: Proctor (2014) 17 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business SIMPLIFIED STEPS OF GMA

List dimensions of the product or

problem
The example of problem statement after reframing is

“HOW MIGHT WE increase ride

Generate list of attributes under each sharing activities among people as
one of the dimensions
they go to and go back from work
in Indonesia”
Take combinations of attributes as
stimuli for new ideas

18 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business

SIMPLIFIED STEPS OF GMA:

SOME IMPORTANT DETAILS
• It is helpful to express the problem in generic terms to
make much use of imagination.
• It is important to ensure that the dimensions and
attributes are independent to each other.
• A session begins with the problem being revealed and
placed where it can be seen easily.
• Then, each member of the group is asked to define its
dimensions and then to read them out.
• Each member provided by a diagram that must be
completed with items / attributes.
• Listing five most exciting ideas / combinations and improve
them by using different method
From: Proctor (2014) 19 Creating the great business leaders
Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business

EXAMPLE: POTENTIAL DIMENSIONS

FOR RIDE SHARING PROBLEM

• Matching partner and scheduling before the trip

• Interactions during the trip
• Personal safety during the trip
• Return items that left behind after the trip
• Personal rewards after the trip
• Type of the vehicles
• Condition of the vehicles
• Choosing the route
• Complaint management including service recovery This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

20 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business EXAMPLE OF SIMPLIFIED GMA: GENERATING IDEAS
Telkom University
Personal benefits: what type of
Matching: how to match Interactions: how the participants
benefits that can be distribute to
participants? interact with each other?
each other?

The application match people based The interactions or communication Each person jointly share the cost of
on their origin and destination between car owner and hitch hiker the trip as calculated by the app and
(O&D) only are not facilitated by the application paid by using e-money

Match people based on their O&D Each person provide evaluation and Hitch hiker must drive the car so the
and their preferences (gender, compliment on each other based on car owner can better use of his time
hobby, and music genre) their ride sharing experience to rest or work

Each person jointly play a There is a digital monster that can be

Match people based on their O&D
communication games that is fed and evolved for each time the
and their social status
provided by the application ride sharing is completed

Match people based on their O&D Each person must discuss their trip Each person get a token that can be
and similarity of contents in their and get acquainted through chat redeemed to get a free pass to
social media before the trip even begin museum, art gallery, and zoo

21 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business EXAMPLE OF SIMPLIFIED GMA: COMBINING IDEAS
Telkom University
Personal benefits: what type of
Matching: how to match Interactions: how the participants
benefits that can be distribute to
participants? interact with each other?
each other?

The application match people based The interactions or communication Each person jointly share the cost of
on their origin and destination between car owner and hitch hiker the trip as calculated by the app and
(O&D) only are not facilitated by the application paid by using e-money

Match people based on their O&D Each person provide evaluation and Hitch hiker must drive the car so the
and their preferences (gender, compliment on each other based on car owner can better use of his or
hobby, and music genre) their ride sharing experience her time to rest

Each person jointly play a There is a digital monster that can be

Match people based on their O&D
communication games that is fed and evolved for each time the
and their social status
provided by the application ride sharing is completed

Match people based on their O&D Each person must discuss their trip Each person get a token that can be
and similarity of contents in their and get acquainted through chat redeemed to get a free pass to
social media before the trip even begin museum, art gallery, and zoo

22 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business NOW IT’S YOUR TURN TO EXPLORE DIMENSIONS!
Telkom University

Parking House Streaming Online

Vehicles Cleaning Videos Meeting

Create a business that is the result of exploring possible attributes of each dimension
of the above activities!

23 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business THANK YOU
Telkom University

QUESTIONS?

24 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business

SYNECTICS
IDEATION TECHNIQUE 3

25 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business DEFINITION OF SYNECTICS
• The word of synectics is made from the
Greek, ‘syn’ and ‘ektos’ or ‘the bringing
together of diverse forces’
• Synectics is a set of process tools derived
from video analysis of the methods used
“Ultimate solutions to successfully in a variety of situations
problems are rational; the • The tools may be used in a specific
process of finding sequence or individually according to the
them is not” needs of the situation, resulting in a
(William J. J. Gordon, 1961) variety of meeting models and techniques
for enhancing personal effectiveness

From: Nolan (2003) 26 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business

WHAT IS SYNECTICS

• Synectics was invented by William J. Gordon

and firstly published in 1961
• Synectics is used to develop new insights on
the problem by making the familiar strange
and the strange familiar
• The use of analogical thinking plays
important roles in Synectics
• The problem solvers are required to have
emotional maturity, constructive
childishness, and risk taking
• It can be universally applied to any problem
situation especially when new ideas are
needed
From: Proctor (2014) 27 Creating the great business leaders
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC
 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business

THE SLOGAN OF
SYNECTICS

“Stay loose until the rigor

counts”

The meaning is that we must free our minds through

analogical thinking and keep that state of mind until
a point when we need to jump back to reality and
convert absurd ideas into practical / realistic ideas

From: Proctor (2014) 28 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business GENERAL PROCESS OF SYNECTICS
Problem
Problem as given Idea
Selection

Possible Solution
Forward - backward
Planning meeting

planning
Analysis Excursion Paraphrase

Itemized
Goal wishing Force Fit
Response

• The general process can be divided into 3 stages:

• First stage: the problem is opened up to ensure that we solve the correct problem (as in the Goal Wishing)
• Second stage: ideas are gathered in the hope of finding possible solutions (as in the Excursion)
• Third stage: to find ways of overcoming concerns with our ideas (idea evaluation) before the ideas can become
possible solutions (as in the Itemized Response)
• We do not have to start from stage 1 nor to complete all the stages in sequence
• Iteration is permitted in any stage
• Problem owner must be included in the process to provide a direction in which to explore next

From: Hicks (1991) 29 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business

• The process of Synectics is so extensive and is

comparable to the process of Creative
Problem Solving (CPS)
• There are some steps of Synectics that serve
similar role with the steps of CPS that have
been discussed.
• For example, Forward / Backward Planning
serve a purpose that is similar with Laddering
in problem finding stage. Another example is
Springboard that is very similar to problem
brainstorming in problem finding
• Therefore, the discussion will be emphasized
on steps that are unique to the process of
Synectics such as Planning Meeting
• We also stress on steps that are highly
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
correlated with idea finding stage, that are
Excursion, Force Fit, and Itemized Response

30 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business SIZE AND COMPOSITION OF GROUP
Problem Owner
• Although Synectics can be • They should be informed about the process
• They are needed to provide directions about what to explore along the
used individually, it is better process
• They should act as ordinary group members during the process
to use it in group of 6 to 8
Group Leader
people • The leader should not be involved in the process but only to provide
guidance
• The composition of the • The leader should assess the process effectiveness on meeting the
problem owners’ wishes
group includes: • The leader must not be perceived as an authority figure but to ensure
that the members obey the rules
• Problem owner
Group Resources
• Group leader
• They are the group members that must offer their ideas and to support
• Group resources everyone else by genuinely complementing them for interesting ideas
and crediting others when they build on one of their ideas

From: Hicks (1991) 31 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business

THE PLANNING MEETING

• We must know how many problem owners that should be
involved
• Who owns the problem? Who is motivated to solve it?
• Is that person willing to do something new about it?
• Is that person expecting someone else to take any
consequent action?
• We must know the extent to which problem owners can
change the problem situation
• What he / she can do to implement a possible solution?
• Does the problem owner command resources? If so, what
are they?
• Under what constraint the problem owners operated?
• We must ensure that we will not “reinventing the wheel”
• Do the problem owner already have a solution? Are they
satisfy with it? What are the weaknesses of it?

From: Hicks (1991) 32 Creating the great business leaders

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business TYPE OF ANALOGIES (Part 1)

Personal Analogy

• We try to imagine what it is like to be the object of our interest or

concern? How does it feel?
• Use the experience to help us solve the problem

Direct Analogy

• We make a direct comparison between the object or situation under

consideration and something similar but from totally different
environment
• It could be biological, ecological, and other natural science system and
social system

From: Proctor (2014) 33 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business TYPE OF ANALOGIES (Part 2)

Symbolic Analogy

• First, describe the characteristics of the

Fantasy Analogy problem or object in question (e.g. old-
fashioned coffee shop)
• Second, ask what is paradoxical or
• This is based on Freud’s notion that
contrary about these characteristics
creative thinking and wish fulfilment (e.g. futuristic)
are strongly related. • Third, pair the characteristics with its
• We might try to disobey scientific,
paradoxical (e.g. old-fashioned future)
organizational, or cultural laws or rules • Forth, search for an example of this pair
(restrictions) and develop ideas under
of words (e.g. data science classroom)
that situation
• Fifth, forced a connection between this
• It is usually prefaced by the words ‘How
ideas and our problem (e.g. classic-
do we in our wildest fantasy. . .?’
looking coffeeshop with modern or
even experimental menu)

From: Proctor (2014) 34 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business TAKING FANTASY EXCURSION
• The group asked to make a story
Select keyword from problem statement
starting with word that is taken from
problem definition (HMW)
• One person will lead off, and then every Take the keyword on a fantastic / weird story or
other person in the group has to add to journey by using any analogies that you prefer
the story
• They should be invited to jump in
whenever they like and told that the Go over / play the story in your mind
more colorful, outlandish, weird or
exotic the story the better
• Everyone should try to add about a Think up absurd or impractical solution / insights
minute to the story, and then someone to the problem
else takes over
• It is usually better to keep the story in Turn promising absurd solution / insights into
the same location, if possible, as this practical solution
makes for better imagery
From: Proctor (2014) 35 Creating the great business leaders
 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business THE EXAMPLE OF FANTASY EXCURSION

Goal • I wish there is a better way to match

people that participate in ride sharing
The example of problem
Wishing
statement after reframing is:

“How might we (HMW)

Keyword • Match
increase ride sharing
activities among people
Direct • Matching people in ride sharing is like
to set a blind date or arranged
as they go to and go Analogy marriage
back from work in
Indonesia” Weird • A sultan is trying to find a husband for
his beloved daughter
Story
36 Creating the great business leaders
Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business THE EXAMPLE OF MENTAL IMAGERY

Somehow, it reminds me of
Aladdin, Brave, and Sleeping
Beauty that are produced by
Disney ..

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

37 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business WEIRD STORY, ABSURD SOLUTION, & FORCE FIT
• Once upon a time, there is a sultan
that open an archery competition to
find a husband for his daughter
• There are a lot of young men try to win
Force • The hitch hiker must
tell her “best flattery”
the archery competition. However,
none of them able to hit the target
Fit to vehicle owner

• It turns out that the target is

bewitched by an evil witch. The target
can only be hit by the witch’s son
• Tell a good joke
• To deal with it, the sultan trick the
witch by changing the rule New •
•
Share interesting story
Review a movie
• The new rule is, “Who can tell the best
flattery that able to win the princess Ideas •
•
Sing a popular song
Make a poem
heart will become the husband” - this
is the ABSURD SOLUTION

38 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business ITEMIZED RESPONSE
• We should not reject ideas that are not perfectly
formed. Indeed, the suggestion is to work on and
develop the ideas into more practical solutions
• It starts from the assumption that all ideas have value
• The problem owner is asked to identify practical,
helpful or attractive aspects of an idea, giving reasons
wherever possible
• The leader asks for the problem owner’s major
concern with the idea, expressing this as a ‘How to / I
wish’ to give the group a direction for further
development of the idea to overcome this concern
• Then, the leader gathers ideas from the group and
writes them on the flip charts while asking the
problem owner to paraphrase the suggestions to
ensure understanding
• If the suggestion only partially solve the concern, the
process is repeated with the latest suggestions as the
starting point This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

39 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business EXAMPLE OF ITEMIZED RESPONSE

• The idea is practical as anybody can do

it
Values • It uncovers people interest or even a
hidden talent

• How to communicate this promise to

Concern car owner?

• The hitch hiker insert this in their

profile in mobile apps.
Improvement • The car owner will provide them with
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND
evaluation after the ride is completed

40 Creating the great business leaders

 Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business THANK YOU
Telkom University

QUESTIONS?

41 Creating the great business leaders

Fakultas Ekonomi dan Bisnis
School Economics and Business

Fajar Sidiq Adi Prabowo

Innovation coach & trainer
Mobile : 082127664266
[email protected]

42 Creating the great business leaders