![]() TARGET GROUP
Is participant experience relevant?It's okay if participants haven't seen the inside of a classroom in years. Physical trust needed
Mental trust neededMATERIALSMaterial Description-A printout of the questions
Available material for freehttps://www.hostingtransformation.eu/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Osborne-Questions.pdfREQUIREMENTSDuration30 minutes – 3 hours Experience level of the facilitatortaken part OR some facilitation experience Number of facilitators1, if it is a group with rigid communication patterns you might want to choose one facilitator for each subgroup. CHARACTER OF THE METHODLevel of activationneutralWoo-Woo Level – How touchy-feely is this method?From 1.Rationalist-Materialist “No feelings here, folks.” to 5.Esoteric-Shamanic Bleeding Heart: Innovation Phases:• 4 Idea Generation Method Category:• Business / Entrepreneurial Thinking |
SHORT DESCRIPTIONA classic, effective ideation technique, best used if you already have something to build on: a situation, product, process you want to change or improve. The 62 questions in 9 clusters help you rethink what you took for granted and find better solutions. ALTERNATIVE NAME OF THE METHODOsborn Questions, Osborn's questions BACKGROUNDBACKGROUND AND PURPOSEFor Alex F. Osborn, the originator of the classical brainstorming technique, building upon ideas already suggested was an important factor of successful brainstorming. This technique is based on playfully and systematically modifying existing products or processes and finding alternatives to the original solution/process/product/situation. Why is it helpful to look for such alternatives? a) One of the alternative ideas may solve your problem. ORIGINAL SOURCEAlex F. Osborn, A.F. Applied Imagination: Principles and Procedures of Creative Problem Solving, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1953 • https://archive.org/details/appliedimaginati00osborich STEP-BY-STEP GUIDEPRE-EXERCISESAny exercise that fosters a spirit of curiosity PREPARATION (excluding materials)Provide a communicative setting for your group. 1 Clarify the topicMake your group define the objective of their creative search. What do they need an idea for? What process/product/situation do they want to improve? What would be an outcome they would be happy with after having gone through Osborn’s checklist? 2 Brainstorm along the checklistDepending on how experienced your group is with creative thinking, you might want to revise the basic rules for brainstorming: Then put your product/process/situation you want to improve into the center of attention, spark a spirit of curiosity, and go through the different aspects of Osborn’s questions. Brainstorm around those questions using them as a focalizer. Be aware that this is a trial and error process and will bring up all different kinds of ideas that might not be helpful: this is part of the game and can bring about a wonderful light atmosphere of fun and laughter if the group can let that happen. Also there might be a wide range of how the group members understand a question. It is not necessary that there be unity in the way the question is understood. Multiple interpretations lead to multiple results. Here’s the full list of 62 questions: PUT TO OTHER USES ? ADAPT? MODIFY? MAGNIFY? MINIMIZE? SUBSTITUTE? REARRANGE? REVERSE? COMBINE? HARVESTTake a break, refresh the brain, come back and evaluate the ideas. You might do this intuitively or by a group evaluation method. Check in the database if you need help with evaluation tools. FURTHER INFORMATIONCULTURAL VARIATIONSA similar checklist called Scamper has been developed by Bob Eberle based on the Osborn questions. It is almost the same, but structured a little differently. Some people prefer it as the acronym SCAMMPERR can be remembered more easily. Trainers for this method can be hired here:Visionautik Akademie www.visionautik.de |