Creative Problem Solving 1

Creating a Climate for Creativity Challenge and involvement Freedom Trust and openness Idea time Playfulness and humor Constructive conflict Idea support Discussion Risk-taking 2

Problem Solving Styles Three dimensions of problem-solving styles: Orientation to Change Manner of Processing Ways of Deciding Source: Creative Approaches to Problem Solving (Isaksen, Dorval, & Treffinger, 2011) 3

Orientation to Change Explorer Developer 4 Prefers abstract tasksPrefers defined tasks Generates lots of new and unusual ideas; likes to create something new Generates practical, realistic, and useful ideas, improves existing solutions Tends to wing-itTends to plan Easily adopts and abandons ideasPrefers to complete a task before jumping to something else

Manner of Processing External Internal 5 Engages others to help with decisionThinks independently before making a decision Takes quick action and involves many people Takes action after planning an approach Wants to start building or solving building before a plan is in place Needs time for reflection and planning before starting a task

Ways of Deciding Person Focus Task Focus 6 Is concerned about how the team feels and how the decision will affect everyone Looks for the most promising and logical solutions when generating ideas Ensures that everyone is heard and provides input Uses though and reasoning to make decisions Will seek consensus before finalizing decision Focused on results

Six steps to Creative Problem Solving! 7 Explore the Challenge 1.Objective Finding (identify the goal, wish or challenge) 2.Fact Finding (gather the relevant data) 3.Problem Finding (clarify the problems that need to be solved in order to achieve the goal) Generate Ideas4.Idea Finding (generate ideas to solve the identified problem) 5.Solution Finding (move from idea to implementable solution) Prepare for Action6.Acceptance Finding (plan for action)

Systems Engineering Process Generate Requirements Brainstorm solutions Evaluate Ideas Design/Plan – check against requirements Build a model /Test Create the actual solution Test and evaluate final solution 8

Most Important Step! Problem Definition & Requirements! 9

Rules for Brainstorming! No idea is too crazy or far out Don’t linger – keep ideas flowing Write everything down Defer Judgment - There are no wrong answers and no right answers Quantity (not quality) counts Piggyback on other ideas Combine ideas Ignore limitations Listen 10

What IS the Problem? Goals and vision of the team Overall requirements of the challenge Specific requirements for each element of the challenge Requirements for components within each element Requirements for characters, costumes, side- trips, songs, script, etc… 11

Goals and Vision of the Team This is the first item to explore What is their definition of success? Have them imagine walking into the tournament site: – What do they see? – What are people saying? – What kinds of props etc. are they bringing in with them? Now have them imagine themselves on the stage: – What do they see? – What is surrounding them? – What theme have they used? – What kind of story do they present? 12

Solving the Challenge… Points of interest - overall requirements Central Challenge – outlines elements and components of challenge Within each element are components to solve. 13

Indentify Problems… What Flips?What is the first point of view? What is the second point of view?Who experiences the flip? What/who is the puppet?What is the story? Where is the story?Who is the non-puppet character? What type of art?How will the art depict the flip? What other characters are there?What will the set look like? What theatrical method will we use? How will we present the flip? 14

Determining Requirements Team sets requirements for each “problem” they defined For example – Puppet 15 Requirements in ChallengeTeam determined requirements Artificial figure controlled by team member Needs to be taller than our tallest team member Must be controlled liveMust have moving arms, legs and mouths No preset behavior or speechThe puppet experiences the flip The movement is controlled remotely by team member

NOW you can Generate Ideas Generating Tools Brainstorming No judgment List/hear all ideas Get as many ideas as possible Use ideas to generate more ideas Methods Speak ideas out loud and make list Work individually writing on sticky notes 16

More Generating Tools Roll the Dice (dice) Use the roll of a dice to determine which direction to look at your challenge. 1.Enlarge or reduce the challenge. 2.Substitute elements in the challenge. 3.Combine elements of the challenge. 4.Modify the challenge. 5.Find another use or purpose. 6.Adapt or change the challenge. 17

Attribute Listing Have the team choose a task. Ask, “What are the main parts of this task?” 18 AttributesPossible Changes or Modifications

Attribute Listing is a good tool when… The team has a good idea, but the idea doesn’t quite meet the requirements A task/idea can be broken into several parts or steps where any part can change The team wants to take an idea further or stretch the boundaries but maintain the essence of the idea 19

Task or topic description: Crane Machine Puppet 20 AttributesPossible Changes or Modifications Coin slotSide, front, large, actual size CraneClaw, hand, fingers, really moves, stationary Sign Prizes inside Appearance

Generating… ABCs Take each letter of the alphabet in sequence to look for new connections suggested by words beginning with that letter. Force-Fitting Take two ideas from a list and ask the team to brainstorm ways for the ideas to work together: Frog and a measuring tape becomes a frog that measures things with his tongue 21

Mix and Match (formal name: Morphological Matrix) 22 HeroVillainConflictSettingTwist HairEyesJobClothingLooksMannerisms Element 1Element 2Element 3Element 4Element 5

Generating… SCAMPER – Substitute – Combine – Adapt – Modify / Magnify / Minify – Put to new use – Eliminate – Reverse 23

Evaluation/Choosing Tools Hits and Hot Spots (sticky notes, colored sticky dots, pencils, large paper to write out the challenge, colored markers) 1.Using a brainstormed or generated list 2.Have the group review the list 3.Give each team member dots to mark their favorite ideas (HITS) 4.Group like ideas together. The groups with the most dots are HOT SPOTS. 24

Evaluation/Choosing tools For large lists – allow team members to eliminate 1 or 2 ideas that they won’t do ALOU – A dvantages – L imitations and how to o vercome them – U nique features or potentials 25

Center for Creative Learning 26

Things to Remember.… Everything ties back to the challenge and team developed requirements… Does this solution meet the defined requirements? Generate multiple possibilities and then narrow them down. Think of it as a funnel. You throw in a bunch of ideas and the very best drops out of the bottom. Don’t become attached to the first idea they throw out – chances are very good it’s the very same idea every other team came up with. In fact the first ten ideas are likely to be the same ten ideas that every other team came up with. Dare to be different! If you can’t be different – At least make it original. Take that same idea and give it a creative twist. Have your team begin brainstorming statements with: What if…. Wouldn’t it be nice if….. Can we….. When brainstorming begins with “I” statements it then becomes possessive. 27