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CHAPTER ELEVEN

SCAMPER YOUR WAY
TO INNOVATION

One of the most amazing brainstorming tools I have ever come across is called SCAMPER. It helps you look at something that exists today in a new light so that you can actually create what’s needed tomorrow. The reason the students love it is that they don’t “have to be creative” on the spot; they just have to analyze the product or service against the SCAMPER questions.

Let’s look at the origin of SCAMPER; then I’ll walk you through the questions, give you a few examples for today’s marketplaces, and take you through a SCAMPER exercise from my course.

THE ORIGIN AND USE OF SCAMPER

One of the techniques that Alex Osborn liked to employ in his late-career brainstorming sessions was asking SCAMPER questions. He had observed that most new innovations were changes to something that already existed. Innovation does not have to be a radical departure from existing products or services. Often substantial improvements can be achieved with very subtle changes.

Bob Eberle then developed the mnemonic to organize Osborn’s questions. The acronym stands for (S)ubstitute, (C)ombine, (A)dapt, (M)aximize or minimize, (P)ut to other uses, (E)liminate, and (R)earrange or reverse.

Substitute: What elements of this product or service can we substitute?

Combine: How can we combine this product/service with other products or services?

Adapt: What idea from elsewhere can we alter or adapt?

Maximize or Minimize: How can we greatly enlarge or greatly reduce any component?

Put to Other Uses: What completely different use can we have for our product?

Eliminate: What elements of the product or service can be eliminated?

Rearrange or Reverse: How can we rearrange the product or reverse the process?

New niches, new products, and new markets can often be found by applying SCAMPER questions to existing products, even in mature industries. The process starts with a simple question; for instance: “How do we create a new product using the expertise that we already have?” Here are some simple examples of existing products or services using the SCAMPER method of brainstorming:

If you were making eyeglasses, then you could substitute plastic lenses for glass (incremental innovation) or you could substitute contact lenses for spectacles (radical innovation). A cell phone was combined with a camera and then an MP3 player. The roll-on deodorant was an idea adapted from the ballpoint pen. Restaurants that offer all you can eat have maximized their proposition. A low-cost airline like Ryanair in Europe has minimized (or eliminated) many elements of service. De Beers put industrial diamonds to other use when it launched engagement rings. Dell Computers and Amazon eliminated the intermediary distributor or retailer and sold directly to the consumer. And McDonald’s rearranged the restaurant by getting customers to pay first and then eat.

How Each Element of SCAMPER Works

Substitute: The first letter in SCAMPER, S, for substitute, has you first examining the current product or service, breaking it into subcomponents, and then seeing what could actually be “substituted” to make the product better or unique for the target audience. Are there any components of the product that can be substituted or replaced with something else? In many industries the components that make up the products that are sold are numerous and so substitution is a very straightforward approach to innovation. For example, lightweight plastic parts substitute for metal components and solid-state electronics substitute for tubes and resistors. In the soft drink industry the introduction of artificial sweeteners created a whole new category of beverages—diet soda. Ford is substituting a lot of the steel in its F-150 pickup truck with lighter-weight aluminum to improve fuel economy.

Combine: When you look at the second letter in SCAMPER, C, for combine, you are looking to see what you could combine with the product or service to make it better or to perhaps create a new product. Our everyday life is full of examples of combined innovations. A cell phone includes a camera, an MP3 player, and GPS receiver, for example. Vitamin water is even more obvious a combination. Look around you, perhaps at your desk. What could be combined? A lamp with a stapler in its base? A stapler with a tape dispenser on top of it? A monitor with a light under the bottom edge?

Here’s another brainstorming assignment I use in class: Examine nine existing products, then choose two and break both products down into their key components. Using the list of subcomponents, modify one of the current products or create an entirely new product. All in less than forty minutes.

Adapt: The third letter in SCAMPER, A, for adapt, has you examining other products or services from a point of view of what could be adapted to make your product or service better. Are there ideas from other industries that we can borrow and apply to the product? Carpenters borrowed the band saw from the meat-packing industry, banks lifted the ATM from the vending industry, and the electric car industry has begun to adapt laptop batteries as an energy storage medium. In another class exercise, students adapted the energy-producing power of a hand-cranked radio to a mountain bike that when pedaled provided an energy heat source to the handlebars—a perfect solution to cold hands in the winter.

Maximize or Minimize: The fourth letter in SCAMPER, M, for minimize or maximize, has you studying the existing product or service to see what you could minimize or maximize to make the product better. Are there components of the product that can be enlarged or shrunken? The obvious expression of this approach has been the miniaturization of electronics. But an equal number of innovations have been created by “maximizing” the size or portion of a product sold. Many of the innovations in the drink industry have come about by minimizing or maximizing the drink “size.” Today it is possible to walk into the supermarket and buy a beverage in a 1-liter bottle; a 2-liter bottle; 6, 12, or 24 packs of 12-ounce cans; and even a single-serving 7.5-ounce “half-can.” Each unique size of product has a unique demographic appeal and allows the manufacturer to sell to different consumers in a way in which manufacturers could not have previously. Another example of miniaturization might be the new digital smartwatches, like Apple Watch and others, which place a small computer on your wrist.

Put to Other Uses: The fifth letter of SCAMPER, P, for put to other uses, has you examining the current product and asking yourself, What else can this product, or elements of the product, do? Are there completely different uses for this product? Some manufacturers have figured out that there are multiple uses and have built advertising campaigns around these “nontraditional” uses. WD-40 and Duck brand duct tape have websites devoted to the myriad other uses for their products. There are IKEA hacks that show how to transform pieces of IKEA furniture into other pieces of furniture. One of the large beer manufacturers has sponsored a cook-off for recipes that use its product as an ingredient. Airbnb hosts put their spare bedrooms to another use each time they host an out-of-town guest. GORE-TEX, a waterproof technology, was originally used for years just for outerwear ski jackets. Now, you can also find GORE-TEX-treated gloves, socks, and footwear.

Eliminate: The sixth letter in SCAMPER, E, for eliminate, has you studying your product or service and saying, What makes the product better through elimination? Are there components or features of the product that can be eliminated? As devices have become more complex, opportunities are created in simplification. Some consumers only want their cell phone to send and receive calls, like the Jitterbug for seniors. Starbucks introduced a new juice line, Evolution Fresh, which uses a unique pasteurization process and eliminates preservatives for the health-conscious consumer market. Tablet computers eliminated the use of a keyboard. Wireless headphones and cordless phones eliminate, well, wires and cords.

Rearrange or Reverse: The final letter in SCAMPER, R, for rearrange or reverse, has you looking at your product or service and asking, What could be rearranged or reversed to improve the product or service? Is there an opportunity to rearrange the process? Often we assume that the way in which something is done is the only or best way to accomplish the task. Whole industries have been created by companies that were willing to experiment with the assumed or entrenched method of production. Uber and Lyft have rearranged how people look for a taxi—they don’t; they just hail a ride from their app! Amazon has rearranged traditional retail sales channels by selling directly to the consumer and having us pay in advance and wait for the product to arrive (and sometimes even pay ahead for products on order).

Even in a flourishing economy there is always room for improvements to just about every product or service that is sold. The successful entrepreneur or product marketer is the one who can identify the need and provide an innovative idea to the marketplace. And the key to having a good idea is to have lots of them. Use SCAMPER to help you solve a problem or perhaps create a new product or service. Remember, when you use SCAMPER with a team of people, involve everyone and maximize your brainstorming session by drawing out the ideas for everyone to see. It just creates more “sparks.”

To SCAMPER Is to Draw

No matter how you define it, a creative idea is nothing more than an idea—a thought in your head. Taking your ideas and making them into something more than just thoughts can be a daunting task for some people, but in actuality, making your ideas a reality is as easy as drawing them out. I have mentioned before that no matter the problem or exercise, the students in my courses draw their solutions. Oh, they can take notes, but they cannot make a recommendation or submit a final idea unless it is drawn. In addition to the whole “right versus left brain debate,” you are definitely using your right brain more when you draw, so creativity is more apt to flow. Drawing out your ideas isn’t just the first step to making your ideas real; there are a lot of things it can do for you and, more important, the others on your team. Here are several key benefits to drawing your ideas or solutions when brainstorming:

Drawing will help you visualize your thoughts. Visual thinking genius (and author) Dan Roam once said: “By drawing . . . we will see otherwise invisible aspects and potential solutions [to problems that will] emerge.” As human beings, we’re visual creatures, and until you can visually see your ideas in front of you, you won’t be able to accurately see potential problems (and solutions). Nor will others.

Drawing will inspire you and others. When you start to sketch out your ideas, the lines and shapes that start to form on the paper will help your mind visualize connections that can form new ideas. Your team members cannot share ideas they cannot see; drawing allows them to build off of something they all see. And that is where the potential magic will happen.

Drawing offers you the freedom to explore alternative ideas. Early in a project it’s important to see a variety of different ideas so that you can choose the best option. Sketching lets you explore those varied ideas quickly. When you’re sketching, your mind is free to play and explore other directions that surface. Sketches help filter out “rabbit hole” ideas—concepts that are impossible to produce or impractical to deliver on. Drawing out ideas works as an early-detection system—revealing potential issues before significant time is invested.

Drawing can foster discussions about ideas. With colleagues and especially clients, I’ve found sketches give everyone involved the permission to consider, talk about, and challenge the ideas they represent. After all, it’s just a drawing. Because drawings are unfinished and loose, they invite commentary. There is latitude inherent in a sketch that seems to magically open the door for others to offer ideas—often thoughts you couldn’t come up with from your singular perspective.

Drawing will get you organized. Ideas often seem simple and easy when they’re in your head, but when you start getting those ideas onto paper they can seem overwhelming. Drawing your ideas—and all of the aspects of those ideas—on paper makes it easier for you to organize them. Even if your sketches are all over the place and not drawn in a Picasso fashion, just having something you can physically touch and see will get you organized.

Drawing your ideas means you can visualize them, rather than just imagine them. You can also organize your ideas and be inspired by drawing. For your next brainstorming session, use SCAMPER and invite everyone to draw out his or her ideas and solutions. Then build on what you all see and create something that solves the problem.

SCAMPER in the Classroom and Beyond

Here is an example from one of my classes during the 2013 semester of the Creativity and Innovation course:

I walked into the classroom and said: “I don’t like my sunglasses anymore. I need them to solve more problems I have in my life than just keeping the sun off my eyes. You have forty minutes to solve my problem.”

First, the students, in groups of three to four, spent five to ten minutes agreeing on the core of the problem. (In an exercise like this, I may give them a target segment—say, active people, age 22–35, who love technology.)

Next, they spent ten to fifteen minutes brainstorming by drawing as many ideas as possible, roughly sketching ideas and throwing down words on a poster-size piece of paper.

Then they spent ten minutes narrowing it down to the best idea(s).

Then they spent ten minutes drawing their best idea, which was then presented in front of the class.

The best idea that was drawn featured the following:

Video camera in center

Music player

USB drive

Bluetooth

Interchangeable lenses

GPS (panic alert)

In early 2016, I went online and found a pair of sunglasses that were being manufactured with some of the attributes I’ve just listed. (That not does mean they are or will be successful in the marketplace.)

[SUNGLASS DESIGN VIA SCAMPER]

This sketch was drawn by the team of students in 2013 as a result of a forty-minute brainstorming session. That’s how early you can be in the game using SCAMPER.