SCAMPER method to develop products and services

It would be impossible for a company to never experience something called a brainstorming process. One of the things that is often discussed in this process is when a company is trying to develop or improve the quality of a product.

This process certainly requires us to be able to carry out creative thinking processes and also problem solving. This ability is very important to have, especially when we move in the business world that offers products/services. By having this ability, we can transform an idea into innovation or breakthroughs that may have never existed before.

One method that is often used in the creative thinking process is the SCAMPER technique. This technique is known as one of the easiest but produces real results. The basic idea underlying the SCAMPER technique itself is that every new product/service is actually a modification of something that already existed before.

SCAMPER was first introduced by Bob Eberle who used a number of questions to help solve problems and support the emergence of creative ideas during the brainstorming process. Meanwhile, the ultimate goal is to find innovation and improve the shortcomings of existing products.

While in this process, generally there are seven main questions that often arise, namely:

Substitute:

What resources can be substituted to improve product/service quality?

Combine:

What kind of product combination is attractive and meets customer needs?

Adapt:

how can we develop an idea for customers that is inspired by existing products?

Modify:

What aspects need to be changed from the product/service in order to produce more value?

Put to another use:

Can the product/service offered be used by customers in different conditions/settings?

Eliminate:

How can you make the product/service creation process run more effectively and efficiently?

Reverse/Rearrange:

What are the possibilities that will happen if the product/service creation process is carried out in reverse?

At this point, of course you can already guess where the word SCAMPER comes from, right? In short, the SCAMPER model will help us to develop and find innovations in improving the quality of a product/service.

When starting the brainstorming process using the SCAMPER model, we can start by formulating each problem that exists and needs to be resolved. After that, we will list a series of specific questions related to the goal of creating innovation and improving product/service quality.

The following are the steps you need to take if you want to implement the SCAMPER model:

1. Determine a product or service owned by your company. Choose a product/service that you want to improve.
2. Make a list of questions referring to the 7 (seven) elements of SCAMPER mentioned above.
3. Relate the questions you have created to aspects of value, profits, product attributes, price, market, and various other aspects that you feel are relevant to each of your needs.
4. Next, look back at the questions you have created. Are there the right ideas and solutions for designing a new product or developing an existing one?
5. Explore the ideas you have got!

SCAMPER is a technique to support creative thinking processes and problem solving that is easy and can produce results that can be felt immediately. Through questions related to (S) substitute, (C) combine, (A) adapt, (M) modify, (P) put to another use, (E) eliminate, and (R) reverse, companies will be helped to explore problems through seven different perspectives. As a complete technique, SCAMPER will help achieve the right decision through an innovation and creative process.