Scamper Brainstorming Method

SCAMPER

SCAMPER is a tool to help you think about manipulating your subject in various ways. It can be used by yourself as well as with a group. You can use it, for example, when brainstorming to stimulate new ideas. SCAMPER is an acronym:

S – Substitute

C – Combine

A – Adapt

M – Magnify/Minify/Modify

P – Put to other uses

E – Eliminate

R – Reverse/Rearrange The various techniques aren’t necessarily exclusive of each other — a substitution might also be a modification, for example — and the techniques can be used together, for example, applying a combination idea along with an elimination idea. To use SCAMPER, first isolate your subject, e.g., by stating the problem you’d like to solve or the idea you’d like to develop. Then go through the SCAMPER list and ask questions about your subject. For what can be substituted, think about things such as: process, procedure, rule, person or people, place, time, color, approach, part, shape, texture, sound, smell, name, people’s feelings or attitudes towards the subject, power, force. For combination, think about things such as: what ideas, purposes, or parts can be combined or merged, what assortments, materials, people, or appeals can be combined; can a blend be created