We will see in this chapter the tools of Systematic Inventive Thinking or its name in English SIT Systematic Inventive Thinking or also Structured Inventive Thinking, but applied to the creation of New Products.
There is a similarity with what has been seen in problem solving but here the creation of the so-called virtual product is emphasized, which arises from a pre-idea that is arrived at through defined sequential steps.
We will first see each tool in particular, but at the end of the chapter is the application of the five tools in the creation of a new product.
The two core Principles of the. Systematic Inventive Thinking, which have already been developed. They are.
The Closed World Principle, which says that there are creative solutions mainly in the world of components of the problem / product or in its immediate environment.
Even in attacks such as the one in September 2001, where terrorists used everything from civilian aircraft training schools to free shop penknives to take passengers off the plane, this principle of a closed world can be felt.
For us, a solution that incorporates new elements is NOT creative.
The further we get away from the product and its environment, the less creative the solution is given, and this is the heart of the closed world principle.
This goes against the prejudice of trying to solve a problem by incorporating new objects to existing ones, where cognitive psychologists have already demonstrated this flaw. You must press to create within the closed world because efforts are optimized and products with high added value are obtained.
Make an experience. You tried to create something by giving yourself 5 minutes. You are paralyzed.
Now take an object from your desktop and apply the DIVISION tool. You get several alternatives. Why?
Because you are more generative when you have a frame of reference and apply tools already known and internalized (that is, learned).
It is interesting to note in creative workshops that the more restrictions are given to a given problem or when, as we are now creating new Products, the more creative the solutions turn out to be, which, as we said, goes against what many people commonly think.
The second called Principle of Qualitative Change says that there must be a change in the relationship between the components or objects in the vicinity that contribute to intensify or eliminate the undesired effect on the problem / product.
This coincides with the fact that Innovating is eliminating a contradiction within our product.
One must strive to find unusual relationships in the object to improve. For example, in eyeglasses from the 1950s, there was no change ratio between external light and the color of the lenses.
Now you create a photochromic lens and can have one glasses for different lighting conditions. Or for example, currently the builders of large forged dies have related the dimension of the piece with the surface roughness, giving different roughness as appropriate.
This type of additional relationships to existing products makes one see such changes as inevitable.
For decades shaving machines were the same for men and women, which changes today, in the same way as with many other cosmetic products.
You must choose the relationship that minimizes the unwanted effect or see if that effect is really undesirable, for example the post-its were rejected in the beginning but someone saw the interesting utility of writing down on papers that adhere little and in successive days to any surface.
Only by applying both principles at the same time do we obtain the necessary and sufficient condition to find creative Services or Products.
Sometimes it is necessary to apply several combined tools. Let's look at several examples first applied to products / services and then to industrial improvements. These examples have been selected to facilitate understanding of the tools studied.
We have extended the number of examples of this SIT tool given its enormous applicability. SIT doesn't help you find ideas… at least not directly. Some people think that if they apply the SIT tools step by step their problem will be solved without their having to think.
The truth is that the role of SIT is not to provide ideas, but pre-ideas. A pre-idea is a thought that can lead to an idea. An idea can lead to a solution that can eventually be implemented.
pre-idea => idea => solution (?) => implementation (?)
Working correctly with SIT means putting off thinking until you get to the pre-idea, and then starting to think about an idea, a solution, and finally an implementation.
SIT manages our intellectual resources. In the first phase, "overthinking" reduces the possibility of finding new ideas, and therefore, in that phase, ASIT does all the work for us. In other words, we proceed mechanically to find
a pre-idea:
1. Briefly describe the product.
2. Define the product objects
3. Define the required action
4. Find the main adverse factor
5. Apply the tools
For example, in Unification an object is "automatically" taken and carried out as required.
The pre-idea is:
The object (object name) performs (required action) (This is repeated for each object, generating new pre-ideas with this tool).
But when a pre-idea is identified, we have to start thinking. It is as if SIT creates for us a puzzle that we have to solve. The pre-idea gives us a clue to follow.
A good example of a pre-idea is the famous scene from the Apollo 13 movie in which a NASA official tells all the technicians: "We have to give them oxygen to return to Earth using only these elements" or "We have we have to give them electricity so that they can turn on the computers only with what we have ”
Using SIT to solve problems he plays the role of the NASA officer. It forces us to think within the Closed World of the problem and focuses our pre-ideas to find new ways to use existing resources.
It is important not to judge the pre-ideas. This doesn't make sense because pre-ideas are preliminary ideas.
Many creative thinking methods recommend suspending judgment. However, at some point we need to judge ideas in terms of their quality and feasibility.
SIT differentiates very well between the level of pre-ideas, where judgment is irrelevant, and the levels of ideas and new Products / Services, where it is advisable to judge and do well.
Consider the following points when moving from a virtual product to a product commercially acceptable to the Customer:
a-What is the market objective
b-What are the benefits of our product in the market
c-What are the benefits of the product in your business
d-How this product fits with your Business Plan
e-How sales of your other products
f-How new markets develop for your product
g-How your product fits into niches allowed by the market
h-How the product relates to the competition
i-How our product allows a better use of our tangible physical resources (labor, equipment, etc.) and intangibles (prestige, vision, mission of the company, etc.)
j-How the company's exposure is improved with this product
k-How our product allows new advertising channels
Let's see now how each of these tools is used not in problem solving but in the Creation of new Products.
1-The Division in the creation of a new product
The division eliminates the fixation of perceiving a given product or object only as an indivisible entity or that cannot be reorganized in a different way, to create a virtual product of use for our clients or Users.
The steps to follow for the DIVISION to create a new product are:
1-List the main parts of the object or product
2-Separate a part of the product, thus defining the new object or product
3-By reorganizing the parts in space, or time or reversing the order of said parts, you have the "pre-idea" of the new product
4-This "pre-idea" is developed to discover a new product with benefits and a clear objective for customers.
5-Repeat the process with other main parts
Example of applying the DIVISION to a wall clock:
Step 1: the electrical mechanism, the hands, the dial, the numbers, the clock frame.
Step 2:
a- Let's separate the electrical mechanism and we have the following benefits:
- easier to change the mechanism easier to operate or to take by your side and use it as an alarm clock suppose that we attach them to the wheel of a bicycle and with needles we create the clock-bicycle.
b- Let's separate the numbers from the wall clock and we have the following benefits:
- We install the numbers on a wall of a tower of buildings, in a sauna, etc. and we have a useful and inexpensive product outside the area exposed to inclement weather.
Other business examples where the DIVISION was applied:
a-Many supermarkets already divide the discount offers on different days of the week, forcing customers to visit the store more often and therefore buy more.
b-In endoscopy-type medical analyzes, the camera is separate and transfers information to the processor module.
c-On boats, sanitary napkins, chewing gum, toilet soaps, sweets, etc. the product is divided for the user's convenience and to make a more rational use of space.
d-There are baby strollers that separate from the stroller to transform and install in car seats
e-There are already markets that group the different ingredients of a typical dish in one place. Sometimes PCs are installed with day-by-day recipes for the users' diet
f-One way to reorganize the parties over time is the payment in installments or prior savings systems.
g-As examples of reorganization reversing the order of the parts we have:
- start paying a credit before receiving it at a more convenient rate deposit money and receive a bank code for those customers who do not have credit cards or use the Internet. Place the freezer under the refrigerator as it is used less.
2-Multiplication in the creation of a new product
Multiplication eliminates the fixation of perceiving a given product or object as unique and indivisible, discovering hidden requirements of our clients or Users.
When we apply Multiplication, we generally have a qualitative change because there is usually a difference between the original part to multiply and the selected part to multiply.
The steps to follow for MULTIPLICATION to create a new product are:
1-List the main parts of the original object or product
2-Select a part of the product. The new product will be the original product plus the selected part.
3-A “pre idea” is developed based on the difference between both products with benefits and a clear objective for customers.
Consider different characteristics, locations, times, quantities, interactions and also that the part is its inverse.
4-Repeat the process with other main parts
Example of applying MULTIPLICATION to a decorative wallpaper for walls:
Step 1 Decorative paper, glue
Step 2 We select the decorative paper with several layers of different decorations
Step 3 We develop the “pre-idea” of having a second or third layer of paper with different decoration for when the first layer gets dirty.
- When the children grow up, we have the possibility of removing a layer and changing the environment when a tenant leaves and we want a new decoration to be seen.
Other commercial examples of Multiplication are:
a-A skateboard with multiple wheels that give it a smoother ride
b-The manual gearbox and the automatic gearbox of the cars
c-Burgers with a double portion of meat or cheese
d-Cinemas or theaters with two or more films / shows to enjoy
e-Watches with several needles of different colors for swimmers who are in the same lift, preventing them from colliding or disturbing
f-The sale of socks for three units, or two car aid tires or two glasses instead of per unit.
gSometimes good results are obtained by applying multiplication and inversion, as in the case of pencils with a built-in eraser
h-In Scotland and Australia a chain of hypermarkets offers women who are accompanied to enjoy shopping with another surrogate woman, and leave their partner having fun in a bar with games, newspapers, books and TV.
i-In the US, car patents are owned by the User and they take them with them when they sell the car or install them when they buy it. And fines and infractions always haunt the patent owner.
3-Unification in the creation of a new product
Unification helps us to determine other worlds of commercialization of our virtual product, for example a birthday candle that only gives us light but is edible like the cake where it is placed.
The steps to follow for UNIFICATION to create a new product are:
1-List the worlds of your product, that is, Divide the worlds into:
a-Operational or usage scenarios
b-Of defined market objectives
c-Life Cycles, that is, the different phases your product goes through
2-Select a world and populate it.
Select products of similar functionality, technology or physical proximity
3-Define your virtual product
4-Develop a "pre idea" and verify if your virtual product has a good market convergence for your Client
5-Repeat the process with other worlds on the list.
Example of UNIFICATION applied to a mobile phone
1a- The Operational world includes the different scenarios or places of use: home, the street, the car, the office, in an emergency, on vacation.
1b-Market Objectives as for example applied to a lap top PC, which is for young people, professionals, businessmen, adults, companies, etc.
1c-In the world of Life Cycles are the planning, manufacturing, distribution, purchase, repairs and disposal of the product
2-Select a world and populate it. We choose the Operational world of Home.
But this is a very extensive world and then we must restrict our search to products of similar functionality and need, or of similar structure, or of physical proximity or that can be used at the same time as our virtual product.
So we have, for our example:
1a-Products with similar function: landline phone, cordless phone, PC IP phone, intercom
1b-Products with structural similarity: public telephone, remote control, alarm, microphone, call receiver
1c-products with physical similarity: battery charger, socket, human ear
Now we define our virtual product by moving through 1a, 1b, and 1c.
Let's see:
1.Mobile phone that captures the function of a landline phone, which will pay less than one or more landlines and with the advantage of having memories or sending cheaper messages to calls.
2. Mobile phone that captures the function of wireless phones, with similar advantages to those of the previous point
3.Mobile phone that takes the role of an IP phone but much cheaper
4. Mobile phone that performs the intercom function to open the doors of a garage or even that lets us see who is knocking on our door or that allows us to photograph them.
5. Mobile phone that is used as a public phone. This is used in certain areas of Africa and Asia.
6. Mobile phone with alarm features, radio or microphone, to schedule different tasks or listen to music or record a song over music (karaoke)
7.Mobile phone only to receive calls for teenagers and that these devices are very common in Japan.
8. Mobile phone that also contains a battery charger for simplicity for our discman equipment, CD player or laptop PC
9.Mobile phone with a socket for another mobile or a cigarette lighter or a laptop.
Example of UNIFICATION applied to a cake candle
We choose the Operational world of the "birthday" and we populate it according to:
a-products with functional proximity: cake, songs, surprises, gifts
b-products with structural or technological proximity: matches
c-products with physical proximity: log fire
Some ideas that already represent existing products are:
- A candle that lights up and that after blowing it out, goes out and re-lights itself A candle that “sings” happy birthday A candle that when lit triggers music and people sing along A candle that gives off gifts after being lit A large candle that takes the function of a match and it is lit by scraping it on a specific surface and which is useful when there is a power cut.
UNIFICATION business examples
- The lid of a remedy that also serves to measure the amount of the same or the amount of a detergent. A photocopier that is both a printer, a scanner and a fax. The suitcases with wheels for their comfortable transport the antifreeze filament of the car glasses. The instructions for use of a product in its packaging Aircraft passenger seats that are also floats and anti-shock Cell phones that are also photo cameras, message transceiver-receivers, electronic agendas, calculators, Internet browsers, etc. All products multipurpose respond to this idea of unifying several functions in a single product.
4-The Removal or Removal of Objects in the creation of a new product
The Removal of an object or the Removal of an object or component helps us to determine other worlds of commercialization of our virtual product.
There are two removal alternatives.
One is Removal by Sacrifice and the other is Removal by creating a Parasitic Product.
Sacrificial Removal forces us to focus on what is left after removing a component from the original product.
For example a wristwatch that does not have the digits.
Instead, Removal creating a parasitic product is when we remove a component from the original product and replace it with a component from the surrounding environment.
We then create a parasitic product with much more added value for the user.
For example, they sell us contact lenses and also insurance for their loss.
Let's look at this difference in more detail and examples.
Removal by sacrifice
The steps to follow are:
1-List the main parts of your original product in order of importance.
2-Select a part and remove it from your product
3-Develop a pre-idea and verify if your virtual product benefits your User
4-Repeat the process with the rest of the parts of the list
Keep in mind that Removal eliminates fixation in the entirety of your product and forces us to focus on each of the remaining parts.
Example of applying Sacrificial Removal to a VCR
Following the indicated steps we have:
1-The head that records, the head that reads, the tape movement mechanism, the body.
2a-We eliminate the head that records and we have a video that is reduced in functionality but not in quality when projecting the tapes
2b-We eliminate the head that reads and we have a copier used by companies and businesses that only record blank tapes
2c-We eliminate the body of the VCR and incorporate it to the TV or the music equipment
2d-We eliminate both heads, the one that records and the one that reads, and we have a device for rewinding tapes at a very low price.
Other commercial examples of Removal by sacrifice are:
a-Mobile phones with call reception only, widely used in the US and Europe for teenagers
b-Tv channels that only communicate about the weather, the Stock Market, past programs or as in Israel with the most popular commercials of all time.
c-Wristwatches without digits
d-Many electronic products and toys have components that are not used and are eliminated in successive optimizations.
In general, products with a reduced functionality are created, but in the Removal creating a parasitic product, which we will see below, this functionality is maintained or even improved.
Removal creating a Parasitic Product
The steps to follow are:
1-List the main parts of your original product in order of importance.
2-List the products or objects in the environment with some similarity to their original product
3-Select a part of your original product and remove it.
Select a product or object from the environment.
Define your virtual or parasitic product on the basis that the environment object will replace the removed part
4-Develop a pre-idea and check if your virtual product benefits your User or Client
5-Repeat the process with other objects in the environment
6-Repeat the process with another part removed from its original product
A parasitic product is created when we remove a component from a product and it is replaced with an element from the environment.
In nature there are numerous examples of parasitic plants, parasitic fish attached to other fish, and birds attached to other large animals. In fact, a symbiotic union is formed that gives benefits to the two species.
Example of application of Removal with parasitic product in a baby seat
Babies need a chair that places them on the tables at a given height and that is reliable and comfortable.
Following the indicated steps we have:
1- Legs, Seat, backrest, 2-Table, food, conventional chairs
3a-Remove the legs and choose options to supply this function, for example the table
4a-A baby chair that uses the table with support instead of having legs or A baby chair that uses the car seat instead of having legs.
With the same step 1 again we choose another object from the environment, and we have:
3b-Remove the legs and choose options to supply this function, for example conventional chairs.
A baby chair that uses another restaurant chair for example, or a baby chair that rests on four pneumatic cylinders, which in turn adjust their height for when the baby grows.
Other commercial examples of Removal with parasitic product are:
a-Gymnastic bikes with a computer for calculating calories burned
b-Refill ink for printer cartridges
c-A TV for a play station or an old PC without a viewer
d-Our car hands-free mobile phone, which uses the radio speakers
e-Insurance for the car or for the luggage on a trip
f-A baby toothbrush that uses the finger as a brush handle
g-The hotmail service that the web uses to send emails
h-In walkmans the antenna function is made by the hearing aid cables, this being a case of self-parasiticism.
5-The Breaking of Symmetry in the creation of a new product
The steps to follow are:
1-List the top ten characteristics of your product
2-Make a List of the dimensions in play. Group them according to:
a-dimension of space
b-dimension of time
c-dimension of the user
d-dimensions of the environment
e-group dimensions, referring to objects that being identical, are grouped for some reason
f-dimensions to be used as characteristics or characteristics that can be used as dimensions
3-Select a characteristic and a dimension, and then define your virtual product according to:
"For different dimensional values there are different characteristic values"
It is very important that this is stated explicitly and in writing.
4-Develop the pre-idea and materialize the asymmetric product identifying benefits to the User or Client.
For example, let's look at the use of each dimension in developing ideas for a car:
1-Define the main characteristics of the car: engine size, color, length, number of doors, (let's stop here out of respect as soon as possible) and we will see that:
a-If we use the space dimension: length, width, height, trunk, bonnet, interiors, etc. etc.
If we choose a characteristic color, we can create the virtual product:
"A car that has different exterior colors in different areas" or
"A car with different colors at different heights, or in the form of waves" or
"A car with different upholstery in front seats of the rear"
The harlequin polo shirt introduced by VW on Fool's Day (April 1) turned out to be quite a sensation and began production after hundreds of orders.
b-If we use the time dimension: time of day, holidays, day, night, seasons of the year, etc.
If we choose the motor size characteristic, we can create the virtual product:
"A car in which the size of the engine changes over time"
We are used to having only one type of engine, but for optimal consumption we can have an engine that varies according to speed, road conditions, etc. There are already designs in this sense from manufacturers.
c-If we use the user dimension: age, place of residence, socioeconomic level, gender, status, etc.
Here we can act without choosing a particular feature and create the following virtual product:
"A car in which some characteristic changes according to the User"
Thus, according to the User's profile (let us suppose a couple or employees of a company), the position of the mirrors, seats, radio, etc. changes.
d-If we use the dimension of the environment: temperature, rainy weather, place of the route, traffic flow, type of route, etc.
If we choose the temperature as the environment dimension and color as the characteristic, we create the following virtual product
"A car with colors that depend on the temperature"
For example at night and with a lot of sun it can have a more visible color.
e-If we use group dimensions, referring to identical objects that can be grouped.
Symmetry is broken by making these objects somewhat different, for example in a car we have lights, wheels, pistons, doors, etc. etc.
If we choose the lights, then we create the virtual product:
"A car with different angle of lights depending on whether these are left or right"
This already applies to avoid blinding the traffic in Australia and England.
f-dimensions to be used as characteristics or characteristics that can be used as dimensions.
For example, if we choose the size of the motor as a dimension and the color as a characteristic, we define the following virtual product:
"A car with a different color depending on the size of the engine"
You can think of cars with a greater variety of colors with a larger engine or as a status symbol and the color would give it away. Something used by several manufacturers is to change the status of the position lights depending on not accelerating.
Other commercial examples of Symmetry Breaking are:
a-There are already puzzles of different sizes of pieces and different complexity of the shape of the pieces, so that children and their families can play on the same product.
b-Trucks in the UK and the community have vehicle position lights of different colors and weaker intensity on the side where the traffic is coming from.
c – In multifocal lenses the distance to the focus depends on the angle of vision of the eye successively
d-In sunglasses where the darkening of the lens depends on the lighting from outside
e-"Domino" pizzas in the US where the cost of pizza depends on the delivery time to the customer.
f-The different width of the shoes in certain brands of footwear
g-The left mouse for non-right-handed people
h-The 3-point basket in basketball where if it was made outside the arc the point is triple and inside it is double.
i-Figures that have a double interpretation depending on how the background looks, for example a figure and two glasses are seen.
j-One of the most used strategies in Marketing to be competitive is the Breaking of Symmetry.
It is known that the four Ps are those that define the marketing of the product: Product, Promotion, Price and Place (Place of sale of the product).
Some strategies have been to analyze the dimension in which the price of the competition changes and offer another dimension in which the price of our product also changes.
It is a way in which the user cannot compare the products.
Thus, Coca Cola in the 90s analyzed the sale of soft drinks on hot days as more expensive than on other cold days.
Experiences were carried out with boys and they bought the first most expensive drink, but then they placed the soda near the thermometer of the vending machine and thus deceived the machine, which sold the cheapest soda because it understood that the day was colder. (Application of the closed world principle)
Several US airlines change by increasing their prices if you travel only on business days and tickets that include the weekend are cheaper. They understand that the tickets on business days are for business trips and they are the ones that pay the most expensive tickets.
The volume of the radio on the peugeot 307 changes depending on the surrounding noise in the environment.
So far it has been seen how each of the five tools of Systematic Inventive Thinking is applied in the creation of New Products.
These tools are enhanced when all of them are applied to have high-quality pre-ideas, which will then be translated into market-winning products.
Application example of the five SIT tools
Let's see together a complete example of the application of each and every one of the five tools already seen.
We will take the case of the Internet service of electronic greetings cards.
The Internet search for this service shows that it is free to have several cards per year.
If you want to see the complete collection that includes cards for weddings, birthdays, end of the year, etc. you have to pay about $ 15 / year and they offer to register someone else for free (I think you will notice the MULTIPLICATION tool).
Let's operate with REMOVAL BY SACRIFICE:
With this tool we create a virtual product by starting an object or characteristic of the original product. Then we take this virtual product to a real product, discovering the benefits and the market target.
1-The parts of the product are:
- Internet site where electronic cards are chosen Payment system Card distribution system Writing system to be added to the cards A limited time on the Internet page to download the card Advertising on the different types of card
2-We choose to sacrifice the electronic card itself.
When this occurs there is a notable tendency to replace the card itself with a card creation program.
This is not a notion of basic Sacrifice, in reality it is a Sacrifice with creation of parasitic product.
Let's try to apply Pure Sacrifice and verify that we have a system of text messages to person. It would be something similar to hotmail, but what we can develop with this!
IDEA 1: We can use this system only to send messages and not receive them. Something negative, like not receiving messages turns out to be beneficial.
Then the sender chooses an advertisement and when the receiver buys something, the sender can charge a commission for it.
In the writing system we can incorporate a basic text service with correction and that contains texts of sympathy, affectionate greetings, request for financial assistance, love, regrets, etc. etc.
We can add a supplementation service with experienced writers that make the greeting more exciting:
IDEA 2: We can have a complete support service in card writing
And if we are in this, why not make a competition of the different cards
IDEA 3: Miscellaneous Greetings Card Competition
This will bring new registrations on the site and cheap publicity.
These three IDEAS can be combined to enhance them. Depending on the brevity, let's move on to another tool.
Let's operate with the REMOVAL BY CREATION OF A PARASITIC PRODUCT
Similarly an object must be removed from our product, but here we must replace that removed object with another within the closed world.
If we start by eliminating the card itself, we still have the possibility that the Receiver creates its own graphics, that is, a greeting card that is created by the Receiver.
So when a card is uploaded to the site and another User is removed from the site, we can offer a commission.
IDEA 4: Tools for greeting card design, created by Users
Let's look at what can replace the card and we find that another paper card can take the role of the electronic card. In other words, our site contains texts and the address of relatives and the service is to send the card by simple mail, just as we send them by mobile or fax.
IDEA 5 An Internet system that sends paper cards and we make sure that the day and time you need arrives.
Now let's see if we remove the Receivers but not the shipments. Where do we send them?
A greeting card that the recipient sends to himself, for example to quit smoking, or lose weight, or cheer up for depressive states, for a salary increase or a promotion, etc. etc.
IDEA 6 Have greetings cards sent to yourself
Or just receive the greeting cards but not send them.
Let's eliminate the website and find a way to replace it, for example, the most obvious thing is with another website. In other words, our greetings card will be displayed on another website.
In other words, as we open the newspaper and find a greeting for our birthday, that is how it will happen but on the Internet with banners, or in local newspapers. But ONLY you will see the message.
IDEA 7 Have a greeting card that appears ONLY for you, when ONE opens an important journal.
We can assume that the browser fires the greetings card, and we have the
IDEA 8 A self-firing greetings card with the browser
And suppose that in the PC environment we find PC games, then what if a PC game replaces the card. Game completion is a card, so
IDEA 9 A card that is part of a PC game
Suppose we remove the payment system and replace it with:
- The Internet provider takes the money for the use of the card or The card manufacturer collects the payment for the service then,
IDEA 10: The payment of the card service occurs when someone buys a paper card at a kiosk, and with a code the buyer has the shipping service for a certain time of another electronic card.
Let's operate with the UNIFICATION
In Unification, we give our Product the function that another environmental product had up to that moment.
We have three filters: functional similarity, technological similarity, and physical proximity. In our case, the functional similarity of objects with electronic greeting cards are e-mails, chats, forums, gifts, and invitations via the Internet.
If we talk about a computerized application then the technological similarity is so wide that for now we do not take it into account and the physical proximity is close and we do not consider it either.
The electronic card will allow the sending of e-mails, in a similar way to hotmail.
IDEA 11: Offer together with the electronic card, a free email service
The electronic card will allow an Internet forum, but according to
IDEA 12: Add a forum for conversation between the issuer and receiver of the electronic card, which will be implemented from the same Internet page.
You can make everyone see their own card but the forum see all and also the forum will drastically increase the exposure of the Internet page.
And if the card was a gift !! So
IDEA 13: A gift voucher will be attached to the electronic card
That could be a code for the purchase or a discount of a book, or another item on Amazon or another seller.
And if our system allows the owner of a party to invite and can contain a list of gifts as well, then we have.
IDEA 14: The card will contain an invitation to a party
Let's trade with multiplication
In Multiplication we add to the product or service another object that has a small difference with some object of our product.
The first candidate is the card itself, and then we have
IDEA 15: The card will have several announcements or programs prior to the date of the event being held
Or else
IDEA 16: A common card of several office friends with individual cards to write whatever you want
Or else
IDEA 17: A card in different languages, which is special for foreign people to your country
And there are many more applications but let's move on to investigate another tool:
Let's operate with the Division
When we use Division it is best to start with the main part of our product, let's say the format. The colors, the writing, etc.
This is how the colors are separated from the card
IDEA 18: The card is designed in black and white and the issuer colors it as they want, giving it a personal touch.
Or else a card divided into parts, that is
IDEA 19: The card will be a puzzle that only when completed will it be possible to read and know who sent it. The issuer will be able to determine the degree of difficulty of the puzzle.
Let's move on to investigate another tool
Let's trade with Symmetry Break
The breaking of symmetry identifies the important characteristics of a product and executes changes according to one of the following dimensions: space, time, User, environment, group or other major characteristic.
Let's list the main characteristics of electronic cards:
- color, format, subject, and category delivery time web page address or URL text in length, content, shape, etc. the type of event, wedding, birthday, separation, etc. the cost of the service
Let's list the main dimensions:
- dimensions of space (from where the card is sent) dimensions of time (when it will be sent, time until the event, time since the event, time the card is opened) dimensions of the user (age, characteristics, interests) dimensions of the environment (PC type, operating system, applications, etc.) group dimensions
If we select the card format and the time before the event, we can imagine that the format changes depending on the time.
IDEA 20: The card that changes, for example from more blurred to sharper or that only a part of the text is seen until the same day of the event all the complete text appears.
Or the text will change according to the time until the event occurs, that is
IDEA 21: The card that is completed, for example a poem with one more verse as it approaches the day of the event
Or the format of the card will change according to the time it is opened, that is
IDEA 22: The card will be morning, afternoon or evening depending on the opening hours
Or a card that changes depending on the date of the event, and then
IDEA 23: Card with an astrological analysis of the zodiac
The good ideas will be those that take advantage of features that are impossible in the paper version of the card, and then in the paper version creating cards with astrological analysis would be expensive.
But we can have cards with designs according to the age groups of the recipients, and then
IDEA 24. The card will be designed to accommodate the age of the recipient, since we will have ages and tastes and interests and even the notices could accommodate this.
And if we combine the delivery time and the size of the space, we can create a card with a different format depending on the recipient's place, that is
IDEA 25: There will be cards depending on the location of the recipient
In other words, when the Internet site is opened, its IP will be studied and it will determine where it comes from or for travelers who go to an Internet cafe and send postcards from the city to their family and friends.
These are only a portion of a larger total of raw practical ideas, to be studied, evaluated and developed appropriately.
Actually, we will have to analyze the Ideas for immediate application and leave the rest to be used later.
The ideation process will not be complete if we do not investigate the following for our electronic card:
a-What is the market objective
b-What are the benefits of our product in the market
c-What are the benefits of the product in your business
d-How this product fits with your Business Plan
e.-How sales are supported of your other products
f-How new markets develop for your product
g-How your product fits into niches allowed by the market
h-How the product relates to the competition
i-How our product allows a better use of our tangible physical resources (labor, equipment, etc.) and intangibles (prestige, vision, mission of the company, etc.)
j-How the company's exposure is improved with this product
k-How our product allows new advertising channels
After this, Ideas will result that from the financial and advertising and image point of view of your company can result in a great competitive advantage, if they are correctly implemented.
Use Systematic Inventive Thinking in creating creative Products and services methodically.
