Blog Entry 2

-

Week 4: Ideation and Selection

Recap from last the last blog, the group and I ended off finishing up our literature report for our selected product how we use our meta-cognition skills to generate more possibilities for our air-con. In this week's blog, the aim for the group is to generate large quantity of ideas using ideation tools such as SCAMPER checklist and brainstorming.

During the time that we were brainstorming on how to improve our product, there is always two questions at the top of my mind:
  1. How can we do it better?
  2. What else can we do?
This was when SCAMPER comes into play. What does SCAMPER stand for?

SCAMPER is an acronym that stands for

Substitute 
Combine
Adapt
Modify
Put to another use
Eliminate
Reverse

SCAMPER helped us a lot as by using the helper questions in each checklist, is helps us to generate more ideas related to our idea of improving out dehumidifier. Using the checklist, our group was able to come up with many ideas for improvement.

SCAMPER process:
  • Substitute: Replace the body of the air-con with a material with higher tensile strength
  • Combine: Combining its portable features and with a backpack
  • Adapt: Adapted from a idea of a beer cap, making a portable wearable air-con 
  • Modify: Making the air-con rechargeable 
  • Put to another use: The air-con built into a helmet that can be used by construction workers a construction sites
  • Eliminate: Eliminate being electrically powered and change it to be solar powered
  • Reverse: Rely on solar power instead of electrical power

Eventually, we came up with some ideas such as a air-con helmet, neck air-con and a trolley air-con.

Moving on, after choosing the ideas, we have to put the ideas through the feasibility analysis to sieve out ideas that are not feasible. Through the feasibility analysis template and COWs matrix, we were able to narrow down our ideas that fulfil. 

Idea #1

Idea #2

Idea #3

COWs matrix


In the end, we concluded that the air-con on neck is our most viable idea out of the three.
Overall, I felt that the SCAMPER helped us a lot in coming up with many more interesting ideas that we couldn't without it and the COWs matrix helped us to sieve out the best idea. Even though coming up with the criteria for COWs was difficult, the process is enjoyable.

Comments

Post a Comment