Tag Archives: brainstorming

Osborn’s Checklist, also known as “SCAMPER”

A friend introduced me to a new (to me) brainstorming concept.  Alex Osborn, developed a brainstorming tecnique abbreviated as SCAMPER:

  • Substitute
  • Combine
  • Adapt
  • Magnify
  • Put to other use
  • Eliminate and
  • Rearrange

You can download the Manual Thinking Template to start this brainstorming exercise. Below is a visual example of the brainstorming session in use.

map-osborn-02

Internet of things at Tech job fair

I participated in the workshop “Physical, Digital, Human: Designing Experiences for Mobile and the Internet of Things” taught by Steven Hoober.  It was a mixture of instruction about technology and how it is creeping in to other devices in our lives. With technologies like Nest and Smart Watches, we are accessing the internet and using technology in more and more ways. In between lectures, we broke in to smaller groups and brainstormed a concept or two about our project: integrating all house-hold devices that control some aspect in our house, like turning off the lights or adjusting the temperature. We wanted to create a central location for all of these apps to make the experience more delightful.

Jennifer Blatz career information architecture
We organized our Post-It notes in to similar groups or categories to narrow the focus