Background
Must-haves for creativity techniques
We are convinced that a creativity technique must have the following characteristics. It should be:
- person-independent
- independent of area
- largely independent of prior knowledge
- easy to use
- leading to good solutions in a targeted manner
- independent of chance
So, head over to Skydeas, which fulfills these criteria and start using it.
Advantages of Skydeas
- Simple, therefore intuitive and easy to learn
- Also suitable for complex problems
- Saves a lot of time, as the entire solution space can be searched systematically and purposefully
- Offers general valid solutions that are abstracted from the specific problem
- Independent of topic and area
Scientific derivation
Creativity techniques should be general applicable and domain-independent. Therefore, their solution concepts must also be domain-independent, i.e. abstract and universal. Problem solving typically involves transformations, as new ideas are intended to change or transform something. Such actions are expressed by verbs in many languages. Skydeas has therefore put together a selection of particularly general and abstract verbs in a tree structure. These are the most abstract and general 800 verbs from a total of around 14,000 English and German verbs.
Skydeas calls them elementary operations. You can find them here.
They are best suited to evoke systematic associations of high relevance and quality when confronted with the respective problem formulation.
This is in contrast to creativity techniques that generate new ideas through random associations, such as brainstorming or lateral thinking. Skydeas is most closely related to TRIZ, another scientifically based technique that extracts particularly important universal solution principles from successful patents.
Combine Skydeas with other techniques
It is of course possible to combine Skydeas with other creativity techniques. For example, it may be used as supporting structure in brainstorming sessions. It may also be used together with TRIZ tools, e.g. in the search for the ideal end result. The contradiction matrix and physical effects of TRIZ can also be used.