In today’s fast-moving environment of business, a company cannot thrive without innovation. Businesses and entrepreneurs are all looking for ways in which to come up with more ideas, improve products, and solve problems. The SCAMPER approach will sound like one of the simplest yet effective ideation techniques available today.
Well, SCAMPER simply stands for a set of questions that should be used to jog your memory, provoke creativity, and influence innovation. But, really, what is SCAMPER, how does it work, and why is it so much powerful in ideation? In this in-depth guide, the basics will be covered by explaining the SCAMPER approach with its roots, components, applications, and benefits.
Whether it is the entrepreneur who wants to innovate his line of products, the marketer in pursuit of new ideas for their campaigns, or the student seeking ways to improve his creative problem-solving skills, being able to understand and master the SCAMPER technique greatly helps in improving ideation capabilities.
In this article, we’ll break down each element of SCAMPER and give real examples of its application, benefits versus limitations, and tips on how this approach can be put to work effectively in many different contexts. By the end, you will have a solid grasp of this very powerful ideation tool and be ready to apply it to your creative challenges.
Before elaborating on how SCAMPER works, a brief history of the technique is given below:
The SCAMPER technique was developed by Bob Eberle in the early 1970s. Eberle based SCAMPER on a checklist of the so-called idea-spurring questions by Alex Osborn, an educational administrator, author, and considered the originator of brainstorming.
Eberle took Osborn’s work a step further by ordering the questions in a mnemonic device, SCAMPER, through which the technique is more user-friendly and memorable.
SCAMPER has acquired many users—from business and education to personal development and creative arts—since its inception.
What does SCAMPER stand for?
SCAMPER stands for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, put to another use, Eliminate, Rearrange.
Now in greater detail, let’s find out what each word means:
S – Substitute
C – Combine
A – Adapt
M – Modify (or can sometimes be thought of as Magnify or Minify)
P – Put to another use
E – Eliminate
R – Rearrange
Let’s look at each of these points in more detail.
Substitute: Replace one or more of the components of the product, service, or idea. It may involve substituting materials, people, places, or even feelings associated with the concept.
Key questions for ‘Substitute’:
- What kind of materials or resources may be substituted?
- Can part substitute another?
- Who can be worked with instead?
- What other place or context can it fit into?
Example: Replacing sugar with natural sweeteners in drinks brought about new and healthier variants of beverages within the beverage industry.
C – Combine
‘Combine’ refers to a combination of two or more elements, ideas, or products in a new entity. This can result in hybrid solutions or innovative products that can combine the best features from different inputs.
Key questions for ‘Combine’:
- Which ideas or components can you combine?
- How might you combine purposes or objectives?
What might you combine to get the most uses from this product?
Example: The Smartphone took the phone, computer, camera, and music player and put them into one product.
A – Adapt
‘Adapt’ means to take an existing idea or product and change it so it does something else, or fits in a new context. It usually results in creative solutions because it applies ideas from one field to another.
Key questions for ‘Adapt’:
How could this be modified to serve a different purpose?
What else is like this?
What can you borrow from elsewhere?
What past ideas do you improve?
Example: Having taken the memory foam technology developed for NASA spacecraft seats and having adapted it, created comfortable mattresses and pillows for everyday use.
M – Modify (or Magnify or Minify)
The ‘Modify’ element will beckon a change in the attributes of the product or the idea. It could be changing its size, shape, or other qualities. ‘Magnify’ would mean making something larger or more prominent, while ‘Minify’ would make it smaller or less significant.
Key questions for ‘Modify’:
- How might you change the shape, appearance, or touch?
- What can you enlarge, exaggerate, or stretch?
- What can you reduce or compress?
- Can you add extra features or improve existing ones?
Example: It was through the change in scale of the conventional book, making it bigger and more interactive that children’s pop-up books were innovated.
P – Put to Another Use
This element is about discovering new uses for products or ideas that already exist. It provokes thinking processes on how current solutions might be adapted in another context or for another purpose.
Key questions for ‘Put to Another Use’:
- How could this be done differently?
- Is there a new approach that would achieve the same outcome?
- Can it be done in another sector?
- What more could be done with this?
Example: Putting treadmills under the desk generalized the idea of treadmill desks to make the workplace more active.
E – Eliminate
‘Eliminate’ operates by either reducing some elements of a product or an idea. Out of these simplifications, one comes up with simpler and more efficient solutions or the most essential features of a concept.
Some key questions for ‘Eliminate’ might include:
- Which features, parts, or rules could you eliminate?
- How could this be streamlined or simplified?
- What would happen if I took away one of the critical components?
- What’s not essential? What’s not necessary?
Example: Taking out physical keyboards from smartphones provided high-screen-size devices with more versatile interfaces.
R – Reverse (or Rearrange)
The final element, ‘Reverse,’ is about changing the order or sequence of processes involved, or perhaps just ‘looking’ at your problems in a different way. ‘Rearrange’ implies a change in the layout or pattern of elements.
Key questions for ‘Reverse/Rearrange’:
- What if you did this backward?
- What if you reversed the order or sequence?
- Can you interchange components?
What would a different arrangement look like?
Example: Reverse the normal model of retailing resulted in online shopping. Customers view and order from their own homes instead of going to the store.
Apply SCAMPER in Different Contexts
SCAMPER can be used in many different contexts. Here are some examples:
- Product Development
SCAMPER is strongly used in the redesign and development of the product. Companies can use this technique to either modify or make a completely new product.
For instance, a furniture-making company uses SCAMPER to make a new type of chair: Replacing the metal legs with wooden legs
Combining: Combining both the chair and the bookshelf
Adapting: Adaptation of design for outdoor purposes
Modification: Children’s size
- Adapt: Make it a step-ladder, too
- Modify: Eliminate armrests to give it a clean look
- Rearrange: Flip the backrest to turn this into a multi-directional seating
- Marketing and Advertising
Marketers can make use of SCAMPER in thinking about new campaign ideas or even dusting up an existing marketing strategy.
Example of remaking a social media campaign:
- Substitute: Take the platform from Instagram to TikTok
- Combine: Influencer marketing with user-generated content
- Adapt: Rephrase the message for another audience
- Modify: Extend the period of the campaign
- Put to another use: Adapt campaign material into email marketing
- Eliminate: Discard posts with too many words and substitute them with graphics
- Reverse: Reverse from promotional material into educational material
- Educational
Teachers can use SCAMPER when planning a dynamic lesson, or they can teach SCAMPER to students as a thinking skill.
Here is an example of how to redevelop a history lesson:
- Substitute: Substitute reading about the topic in a textbook with interactive computer-based material
- Transform: Combine history and drama by having students act out historical events
- Adapt: Adjust the lesson to incorporate local historical events
- Expand: Extend the lesson to a week-long project
- Put to another use: Apply the historical analysis methods learned to current events
- Omit: Drop traditional testing for creative projects
- Reverse: Students teach part of the lesson to the class
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- Business Problem-Solving
SCAMPER may become a very useful tool for resolving many issues in business.
Example: Too high employee turnover rate.
Substitute: Implementing stay interviews instead of exit interviews
Combine: Work tasks and personal growth
Adapt: Schedules at work are more flexible
Modify: Program for employee motivation
Put to another use: Former employees as part-time consultants
Eliminate: Needless meetings for a better balance
Reverse: Bottom-up vs. top-down in decision-making
Benefits of Using SCAMPER
SCAMPER has several benefits while ideating:
- Structured Creativity
SCAMPER provides a structure for creative thinking and the systematic generation of ideas.
- Versatility
It can be used or applied to a wide number of challenges across industries and contexts.
- Simplicity
The technique is simple to understand and remember; hence it can be used by people at all levels.
- Comprehensive Exploration
By probing into different aspects of modification, SCAMPER enables even-handedly exploration of all possibilities.
- Encouragement for Team Work
It is a beautiful tool for team brainstorming, as it ensures varied viewpoints.
- Problem-Solving
SCAMPER can be used to break down complex problems into feasible parts.
- Innovation Catalyst
By forcing one out of the conventional box thinking, often innovative, very different solutions are derived.
Limitations and Considerations
‘././dda’ Though a very powerful tool, SCAMPER has a few limitations, which should be borne in mind:
- Dependency on the Starting Point
SCAMPER works best when you have an existing product or idea to work with. It may be less effective at generating entirely new concepts from scratch.
- Potential for Overwhelm
The huge number of questions and possibilities generated sometimes overwhelms a person when working on a complex problem.
- Need for Critical Evaluation
Not all ideas resulting from SCAMPER will turn out to be useful or feasible. Critical evaluation is required for filtering and refinement of ideas.
- Risk of Fixation
There is a potential drawback to extreme focus on the SCAMPER prompts, and overlooking other possible routes to innovation.
Effective Application Tips for SCAMPER
To achieve maximum value from the SCAMPER technique, consider the following tips:
- Be Very Clear on Where You’re Starting
Understand the product, idea, or problem you are working on before you apply SCAMPER.
- Use Visual Aids
Create mind maps or diagrams to put in the ideas as they come along with each element of SCAMPER.
- Allow Wild Ideas
Not all wild ideas are absurd. Sometimes, they turn into innovative solutions when tamed.
- Combine Elements
By no means must you feel compelled to work with just one SCAMPER element at a time. Combining elements can bring more creative results.
- Time Constraints
Set aside specific times so that the elements do not run on and on, resulting in overthinking.
- Regular Practice
As with any other skill, effective use of SCAMPER develops over time and practice. How about trying to apply it to everyday objects or situations?
- Follow Through
Once ideas are generated, take time to evaluate, improve on, and action plan the best of the ideas.
SCAMPER in the Digital Age
SCAMPER can be enriched by several tools and technologies in the current digital world. These may include:
- Digital Collaboration Platforms
Miro or Mural enables remote work on SCAMPER sessions for dispersed teams.
- Idea Management Software
Platforms like IdeaScale or Brightidea facilitate the organization and evaluation of ideas generated through SCAMPER.
- AI-assisted Ideation
New AI Technologies can provide additional prompts or suggestions based on SCAMPER inputs.
- Virtual and Augmented Reality
These can lead to fireplaces of both VR and AR, which would raise creativity in SCAMPER sessions.
SCAMPER Effectiveness Measurement
As noted, it is one more element to ensure that the sessions powered by SCAMPER are effective:
- Quantity of Ideas: Measure the number of ideas yielded with each session.
- Quality of Ideas: Assess whether the ideas generated are relevant and potentially impactful.
- Implementation Rate: Keep track of how many SCAMPER ideas reach execution.
- Problem-Solving Efficiency: Check if SCAMPER helps in faster or more effective problem-solving.
- Team Engagement: Take feedback from the participants regarding the whole process and outcome of SCAMPER.
- Innovation Index: Over time, measure the tangible outcome of implemented ideas on your business or project goals.
Conclusion
SCAMPER is an overall versatile tool that could be used to bolster creative problem-solving and innovation processes—a ‘powerhouse of ideation’. SCAMPER helps a person or a team generate a wide variety of ideas by providing structured research into modifications and improvements, with many of those often turning out to be real breakout solutions.
The uses of SCAMPER are enormous and stretch from product development and marketing to education and private projects. Again, one of its strengths is in the simplicity and comprehensiveness of its encouragement to thinkers to look at numerous angles and possibilities they might not have otherwise come up with.
Yet, like any other tool, it is how SCAMPER is used that holds within it all the potential. It requires practice, critical thinking, and the willingness to prosecute wild ideas. Tailored to meet specific needs, SCAMPER is sure to be a game-changer in stirring up innovation and creativity when combined with other ideation techniques.
SCAMPER and other tools become all the more valuable as we navigate an increasingly complex and fast-changing world. They enable us to better adapt to situations, innovate solutions, and solve problems. Whether an entrepreneur, student, professional, or any other user enhances one’s creative thinking skills, including SCAMPER within your ideation toolkit can bring in new possibilities and viewpoints.
Remember, what SCAMPER actually should do for you is not to provide the answers itself but to initiate thinking processes that will lead you to inventive answers. Next time you want to solve a problem or a question, apply SCAMPER. That might reveal some astonishing, innovative solutions.
