UMC1022 CREATIVITY & INNOVATION

Creative Problem Solving (CPS)Zainal Abidin Sayadi

Faculty of Science, Technology & Human Development

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Identify the Goal, Wish or Challenge Gather Data Clarify the Problem

Generate Ideas

Select & Strengthen Solutions Plan for Action

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DIVERGING & CONVERGING

Explore the Challenge

GenerateIdeas

Prepare for

Action

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Whatever idea comes to mind, go with it.Don’t evaluate ideas while you are generating them. The ideas can be evaluated later.

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The more ideas you have, the greater chances of getting a good one. Lay out all the usual approaches to the problem, then push to consider new ideas.

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Freewheel - the wilder the ideas the better.It’s easier to tame a wild idea than to invigorate a weak one. (Osborn)Stretch your thinking to create some wild ideas.

“If at the first the idea is not absurd, there is no hope for it” Albert Einstein 8

Let one idea spur other ideas.Build, combine and improve ideas.

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1st Stage

DivergentWhat if?Why not?What associations can we findWhat rules can we break?What assumptions are at work?What is this like?What analogy could we use?What metaphor suggests itself?Suppose the problem were a solution?

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2nd Stage

ConvergentWill it work?Can we do it?Has it been tried before?Does it fit in?Have we got the resources?Is the timing right?Who can help?How much will it cost?Suppose it fails?

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Explore the ChallengeIdentify the Goal, Wish or Challenge

• State a variety of goals, wishes or challenges.

• Choose a goal, wish or challenge where you have ownership, motivation and a need for imagination

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Explore the ChallengeGather Data • Explore all data around the goal,

wish or challenge.

• Identify all the relevant data

• Use Journalist’s questions 5Ws & 2Hs

• Who…? What…? When…? Where…? Why…? How…? How much…? 14

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Explore the ChallengeClarify the Problem

• State the problem in as many ways as possible.

• Choose a problem statement to work on.

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Generate Ideas

• Think up a wide variety of ideas to solve the problem.

• Choose the most promising ideas.

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Prepare for Action

Select & Strengthen Solutions

• Evaluate and refine the ideas you selected.

• Select the most promising solution(s).

• Many similar ideas – Restate & PPCO

• One idea – PPCO

• Diverse Ideas – Evaluation Matrix

• Many ideas of equal worth – Card Sort

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Prepare for Action

Plan for Action

• List a series of possible actions for implementation.

• Form a specific plan for action.

• Select key actions to implement.

• Create a plan that details who does what, by when, reporting completion to whom.

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Prepare for ActionGoals Actio

nBy Whom

By When

Reporting completion to whom

Immediate

Short

Medium

Long Term

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BrainstormingBrainwritingForced ConnectionsVisual ConnectionsSCAMPERLadder of AbstractionWord DanceRandom WordExcursionsFocusAlternativesChallenge

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HighlightingPraise First (PPCO)Card SortEvaluation Matrix

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Highlighting 3 steps of highlighting

Hits Look for ideas that are interesting,

promising, compelling, intriguing, innovative or on target.

Mark or “hit” those ideas with a check, star or colored dot.

Cluster From the hits, see if any share a theme

or reiterate the same idea. Group or “cluster” of those related

ideas. Restate

For each cluster, try to synthesize the different ideas into a single statement.

Try to capture the essence and paraphrase the ideas into one concise phrase.

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Praise First (PPCO) Pluses

What do you like about the person’s idea, work, proposal, or performance right now?

Be direct, honest and specific. Potentials

What opportunities might this idea open up? It might…

Concerns Express your concerns as open ended questions that

offer a possible future direction. How to…

Overcome Concerns Review your list of concerns. Brainstorm to generate ways to overcome each

concern.

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Card Sort Helps to compare, rank and

prioritize promising ideas. It can be used to rank ideas,

solutions, problem statements or criteria.

Continued…..

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Card Sort… directions1. Write each idea on a separate card (3” x

5”) and arrange the cards in a row.2. Count how many cards (ideas) you

have.3. Identify the option you like the least.

Write the number that equals the total number of cards you have. Put the card off to the side.

4. Of the cards remaining, identify the option you like the best and write “1” on it. Put it off to the side.

5. ……

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Evaluation Matrix A systematic way to analyze

ideas. Directions:

Generate Criteria Select Criteria Create a rating scale Set up the matrix Fill in the blank boxes Compare their strengths &

weaknesses Overcome low criteria ratings

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Evaluation Matrix

option1

option2

option3

option4

option5

Option6

criteria1

criteria2

criteria3

criteria4

criteria5

Rating Scale: Good AverageFair

5 4 3 2 1

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Explore The Challenge

1. Identify the Goal, Wish or Challenge.2. Gather Data

3. Clarify the Problem

Generate Ideas

4. Generate Ideas

Prepare for Action

5. Select & Strengthen Solutions6. Plan for Action

…summary

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NEXT…

Some youtube videos to inspire you…

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