scholarly journals Deconstruction of Idea Generation Methods Into a Framework of Creativity Mechanisms

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Senni Kirjavainen ◽  
Katja Hölttä-Otto
Keyword(s):  
Idea Generation ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Parallel Track ◽  
Engineering Problems ◽  
Significant Research ◽  
Ideation Methods ◽  
Creative Ideation ◽  
The Way

Abstract Creative ideas are a central part of solving engineering problems, generating interesting art, as well as developing successful products and innovations. Idea generation methods are a well-researched topic. Specifically, there is significant research that focuses on specific idea generation methods and how they perform. Further, some method classifications have been suggested to help understand the cognitive mechanisms involved in creative ideation as well as the differences between methods. Yet, the discourse is usually on which ideation method outperforms another or how to improve an ideation method rather than the elements, rules, constraints, and activities that comprise ideation methods. In this study 76 well-documented idea generation methods are reviewed and analyzed. We find all analyzed methods consist of 25 mechanisms. The mechanisms are discussed and classified into idea promoting and implementation mechanisms. We suggest that rather than focusing research only on methods, there should be a parallel track of research creating understanding on these mechanisms and their interactions to help increase our understanding of creativity methods, add practitioners understanding on how to get the best advantages out of creativity methods and lastly improve the way practical creativity is approached in education.

scholarly journals Deconstruction of Idea Generation Methods Into a Framework of Creativity Mechanisms

2020 ◽  
Vol 143 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Senni Kirjavainen ◽  
Katja Hölttä-Otto
Keyword(s):  
Design Thinking ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Parallel Track ◽  
Engineering Problems ◽  
Significant Research ◽  
Ideation Methods ◽  
Creative Ideation ◽  
The Way

Abstract Creative ideas are a central part of design thinking, whether solving engineering problems, generating interesting art, as well as developing successful products and innovations. Idea generation methods are a well-researched topic, and there is significant research that focuses on specific idea generation methods and how they perform. Furthermore, several method classifications have been suggested to help understand the cognitive mechanisms involved in creative ideation as well as differences between methods. Yet, the discourse is usually on which ideation method outperforms another or how to improve an ideation method rather than the elements, rules, constraints, and activities that comprise ideation methods. In this study, 88 well-documented idea generation methods are reviewed and analyzed. We find all analyzed methods consist of 25 basic mechanisms. The mechanisms are discussed and classified into idea promoting and implementation mechanisms. We suggest that rather than focusing research only on methods, there should be a parallel track of research on these mechanisms and their interactions to help increase our understanding of creativity methods, add understanding for practitioners on how to get the best advantages out of creativity methods, and finally improve the way that practical creativity is approached in education.

scholarly journals A marriage of convenience or an amicable divorce: Metaphorical blends in the debates on Brexit

ExELL ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Sanja Berberović ◽  
Mersina Mujagić
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
Figurative Language ◽  
Conceptual Metaphor ◽  
Conceptual Blending ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Discourse Coherence ◽  
The Way

Abstract The paper investigates the interaction of conceptual blending and conceptual metaphor in producing figurative creativity in discourse. The phenomenon of figurative creativity is defined by Kövecses (2005) as creativity arising through the cognitive mechanisms of metonymy, metaphor, and blending. Specifically, the paper examines the use of creative figurative language in the British public discourse on the topic on Brexit. The aim of this paper is to show that conventional metaphors can be creatively stretched through conceptual blending, producing instances of creative figurative language. Specifically, applying blending theory, we will analyse innovative conceptual blends, motivated by the conventional marriage/divorce metaphor. In addition, the paper also examines the way in which creative figurative language produced in metaphorical blends provides discourse coherence at intertextual and intratextual levels.

scholarly journals A Further Exploration of the Three Driven Approaches to Combinational Creativity

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 2735-2744
Author(s):  
Ji Han ◽  
Min Hua ◽  
Feng Shi ◽  
Peter R. N. Childs
Keyword(s):  
Product Design ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
Design Support ◽  
Creative Idea ◽  
Significant Element ◽  
Support Tools ◽  
Practical Design ◽  
Ideation Methods ◽  
Early Phases

AbstractCombinational creativity is a significant element of design in supporting designers to generate creative ideas during the early phases of design. There exists three driven approaches to combinational creativity: problem-, similarity- and inspiration-driven. This study provides further insights into the three combinational creativity driven approaches, exploring which approach could lead to ideas that are more creative in the context of practical product design. The results from a case study reveal that the problem- driven approach could lead to more creative and novel ideas or products compared with the similarity- and inspiration-driven approach. Products originating from the similarity- and inspiration-driven approach are at comparable levels. This study provides better understanding of combinational creativity in practical design. It also delivers benefits to designers in improving creative idea generation, and supports design researchers in exploring future ideation methods and design support tools employing the concept of 'combination'.

Memory and Idea Generation Applied to Product Repurposing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Arabian ◽  
D. R. Addis ◽  
L. H. Shu
Keyword(s):  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Turbine Blades ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
Standard Test ◽  
Wind Turbine Blades ◽  
Engineering Problems ◽  
Episodic Memories

Abstract Many engineering problems still require novel solutions, e.g., the repurposing of retired wind-turbine blades. Increasing evidence suggests that the recall of episodic memories enhances idea generation, but its application to engineering problems has been limited. The current work investigates the effectiveness of a memory induction on generating ideas. Engineering undergraduate students in a fourth-year design course (N = 38) completed a study under both of two conditions, a memory induction and a control (non-episodic-memory) induction. Participants underwent the induction before generating ideas on the Alternate Uses Task (AUT), a standard test of divergent thinking, and a wind-turbine-blade repurposing task (WRT). AUT responses following the memory induction were deemed significantly more flexible (p = .045) and elaborate (p = .041) than responses following the control induction. No difference in response fluency (p = 0.205) followed the two inductions, possibly due to limited time allotted for the AUT. In line with this explanation, fluency was inversely related to elaboration. In the WRT, more appropriate (p = 0.009) and more feasible (p = 0.015) ideas for repurposing wind-turbine blades were generated following the memory than the control induction. These results suggest that strategies increasing access to episodic memory may improve generation of alternative-use ideas for both common objects and wind-turbine blades.

scholarly journals Orienting through the Variants of the Shah’s A-Posteriori Novelty Metric

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 2317-2326
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Fiorineschi ◽  
Francesco Saverio Frillici ◽  
Federico Rotini
Keyword(s):  
Idea Generation ◽  
A Posteriori ◽  
Important Research ◽  
Selection Framework ◽  
Assessment Procedures ◽  
The Way

AbstractDifferent variants of a-posteriori novelty metrics can be found in the literature. Indeed, such a kind of assessment procedures is often used to extract useful information about creativity and/or idea generation effectiveness. In particular, the metric proposed by Shah et al. in 2003, is one of the most used and discussed in the literature. However, scholars highlighted some flaws for this metric, and some variants have been proposed to overcome them. This paper argues about the variants proposed for the a-posteriori metric of Shah et al., and proposes a selection framework to support researchers in selecting the most suited for their experimental needs. The proposed selection framework also highlights important research hints, which could pave the way for future activities. More specifically, it is still necessary to support the identification of the best-suited abstraction framework to assign weights to attributes, and the assignment of weights should be better supported as well. Moreover, this paper highlights the presence of “uncommonness of key attributes”, which needs to be investigated for experimental cases where ideas missing some key attributes are present.

IDEA MANAGEMENT FOR ORGANISATIONAL INNOVATION

2003 ◽  
Vol 07 (04) ◽  
pp. 417-442 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. FLYNN ◽  
L. DOOLEY ◽  
D. O'SULLIVAN ◽  
K. CORMICAN
Keyword(s):  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
Innovation Process ◽  
Software Tool ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Generation Process ◽  
Effective Management ◽  
Significant Research ◽  
Integrated Software ◽  
Idea Management

Modern organisations are under ever increasing competitive pressure to maintain market share, enhance product range, improve efficiency and reduce cost. The process by which organisations attain these improvements is through innovation. Over recent years, significant research has focused on the issue of managing the process of developing ideas towards eventual organisational innovations. However, the process by which these ideas are generated and effectively managed is one which currently operates in an "ad hoc" fashion. This paper strives to present a structured and holistic approach to managing idea generation. A literary survey of both innovation and creativity is undertaken to determine their inter-relationships and core traits. Following this, a methodology is presented to facilitate the organisational management of the "Idea Generation" process. An integrated software tool to support the process is also introduced. The purpose of this tool is to provide an infrastructure for the effective management of ideas and their transfer to the larger innovation process.

Evaluating an Ideation Method in a Real-Life Context: A Field Test From the Railway Sector

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Malou Petersson ◽  
Jan Lundberg
Keyword(s):  
Field Test ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
Government Agency ◽  
The Other ◽  
Close Collaboration ◽  
Unexpected Events ◽  
Life Context ◽  
Ideation Methods ◽  
Intended Use

A great number of ideation methods are available to assist the engineer in the conceptual phase of product development. Previous research on idea generation suggests that, in order to understand how ideation can be successful in reality, the context must be taken into account. Therefore, evaluating promising ideation methods in the intended use setting should be an important complement to other research studies in the field of engineering design. In the present study, an ideation method which had previously been developed by the present authors in close collaboration with industry, a government agency, and academia was evaluated in a typical use setting. Testing the method in a use setting led to unexpected events and to new insights into the method. During the most ideation-intensive stage of the method, one of the groups in the use setting generated suggestions at a rate similar to that of the small representative group in which the development of the method had taken place, whereas the other three groups in the use setting had a lower suggestion generation rate. The findings indicated that the participants’ views on the method correlated with those of the group which had developed the method.

Learning to Be Creative: A Mutually Exciting Spatiotemporal Point Process Model for Idea Generation in Open Innovation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vipul Aggarwal ◽  
Elina H. Hwang ◽  
Yong Tan
Keyword(s):  
Point Process ◽  
Open Innovation ◽  
Process Model ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
Learning By Doing ◽  
Reduced Form ◽  
Generation Process ◽  
Point Process Model ◽  
Innovation Platform ◽  
Creative Ideation

This study investigates the creative idea generation process in an open innovation platform. The idea generation process is simultaneously influenced by multiple activities: knowledge acquisition from participants’ interactions with each other’s ideas, deliberate practice through persistent participation, and learning through failures. Due to the dynamic interplay across these activities, it is challenging to identify each activity’s influence on creative ideation outcomes using reduced-form regression analysis. To overcome these challenges, we employ a comprehensive empirical framework, the mutually exciting spatiotemporal point process model with unobserved heterogeneity, which endogenizes the occurrences of these activities in continuous time and allows for user-dependent effects. By utilizing the activity stream data of 13,028 participants from 2010 to 2016 in an open innovation platform, we uncovered synergistic effects of these activities on creative outcomes. We find that knowledge acquired through interaction with others (i.e., stimulus ideas) plays a vital role in the creative ideation process, but their effect is more nuanced than what we have known so far. In contrast to the prior belief that distant analogies, stimulus ideas outside of a problem domain, spur creativity, we find that distant analogies lead to failures. Yet, we further find that such failures are indispensable to the creative ideation process because failures motivate idea generators (1) to acquire more knowledge by increasing their future interactions with other participants’ ideas (learning from others), and (2) to persist in generating ideas that lead to improvements in their ability to apply the acquired knowledge and to identify innovation tasks that are relevant to their stock of acquired knowledge (learning by doing). Our results indicate that failures are a stronger driver of the learning activities than successes. Based on our findings, we offer insights on how to cultivate creativity in an open innovation setting.

Relevance and Normative Conditions in the Use of Reasons

Diogenes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Ivanova ◽  
◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Epistemic Norms ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Epistemic Evaluation ◽  
The Way

The article presents a case for the thesis that everyday linguistic ascriptions of justification depend, among other conditions, upon epistemic norms about the way in which the agent has set the scope of relevant reasons and evidence for the belief. These norms, it is argued, and not criteria for the possession of evidence, determine whether a belief is properly justified in various cases when the agent has missed some relevant and possessed by her evidence. Unlike psychological retrievability, the skill of determining the relevance permits the imposition of rational conditions. Internalist approaches to justification do not explicitly include epistemic requirements for the cognitive mechanisms of setting the scope of relevant reasons in the epistemic evaluation of beliefs but intuitions from everyday ascriptions suggest that the existence of such is likely and that further investigation is necessary to establish whether they should be incorporated.

Idea Generation Mechanisms: Comparing the influence of classification, combination, building on others, and stimulation mechanisms on ideation effectiveness.

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-46
Author(s):  
Saurabh Deo ◽  
Aimane Blej ◽  
Senni Kirjavainen ◽  
Katja Holtta-Otto
Keyword(s):  
Idea Generation ◽  
Specific Method ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Comprehensive Understanding ◽  
Ideation Methods ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Generation Mechanisms ◽  
Engineering Concept

Abstract Ideation methods have been extensively studied, and several ideation methods can be beneficial in different contexts, but it is not understood what makes a specific method work. Previous work has shown that all the ideation methods comprise of 25 fundamental ideation mechanisms in two categories: idea implementation and idea promoting mechanisms. In this study, we try to understand how individual mechanisms affect idea generation outcomes. We chose four idea promoting mechanisms: two from the process category (Classification & Combination) and two from the idea sources category (Building on Others and Stimulation). These mechanisms were selected as they are examples of comparable mechanisms that could easily be integrated into any other ideation method. We conducted four experiments and assessed idea quantity, novelty, and originality. Our study showed that the chosen mechanism increased ideation performance. For the most part, the mechanisms are statistically equivalent, but we found evidence that classification outperforms combination in a simple ideation exercise. We also found the building on others can be more useful than the type of stimulation used in engineering concept generation, but the difference was not found in a simple ideation exercise. Overall, we find evidence that all mechanisms improve ideation effectiveness and could be incorporated into any ideation method, but further studies are needed to build more comprehensive understanding

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