Creative problem-solving and ideation using SCAMPER, First Principles, Random Word, and AI-optimized techniques. Use when generating ideas, breaking creative blocks, brainstorming alternatives, or innovating.
1. Ask → "What problem/challenge?"
2. Context → Understand current state BEFORE suggesting
3. Diagnose → Match situation to technique(s)
4. Generate → Walk through technique step-by-step
5. Evaluate → Score and filter ideas
6. Develop → Shape top ideas into actionable concepts
7. Output → Structured ideas + next actions (Thai if user uses Thai)
Context questions (step 2):
Anti-pattern: Jumping to solutions without understanding context = generic noise
| Situation | Techniques | Combination Recipe |
|---|
| Stuck / No ideas | Random Word, Forced Connections, Oblique Strategies | Random Word -> Forced Connections -> Dot Vote |
| Need breakthrough | First Principles, Challenging Assumptions, Combinatorial Engine | HMW -> Worst Idea -> SCAMPER -> Brainwriting |
| Improve existing | SCAMPER, Reverse Brainstorming, TRIZ-AI | SCAMPER -> Reverse Brainstorm -> Impact/Effort |
| Explore systematically | Morphological Box, Six Thinking Hats, Constraint Injection | Morphological Box -> Constraint Injection -> Clustering |
| Reframe problem | How Might We (HMW), Jobs to be Done | HMW -> JTBD -> First Principles |
| Team ideation | 6-3-5 Brainwriting, Multi-Persona Parallel | Mind Map -> Brainwriting -> Affinity -> Multi-Vote |
| Too many ideas | Impact/Effort Matrix, Idea Clustering, NAF Scoring | Clustering -> NAF Quick Score -> Impact/Effort |
| AI ideas too similar | Divergence Guard, Constraint Injection, Incubation Cycling | Divergence Guard -> Domain Shift -> Incubation |
| Technical/engineering | TRIZ-AI, First Principles | TRIZ -> First Principles -> Assumption Mapping |
| Cross-domain innovation | Combinatorial Engine, Analogical Thinking | Combinatorial Engine -> Analogical -> Constraint |
| Content ideas (blog/video/course) | Content Pillars, Audience Pain Points, Gap Analysis | Pillars -> Pain Points -> SCAMPER -> Validate |
| Business/product ideas | JTBD, Opportunity Canvas, Lean Validation | JTBD -> HMW -> Morphological -> ICE Score |
| Technique | One-liner |
|---|---|
| SCAMPER | 7 lenses: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to other use, Eliminate, Reverse |
| Random Word | Random noun -> list attributes -> force connections to problem |
| Reverse Brainstorm | "How to make it worse?" -> Invert each idea |
| First Principles | Strip to fundamentals -> Rebuild from scratch |
| Six Hats | 6 perspectives: Facts, Feelings, Risks, Benefits, Ideas, Process |
| HMW | Reframe as "How Might We [verb] for [user] so that [outcome]?" |
| Morphological Box | Parameters x Variations matrix -> Combine systematically |
| Analogies | "How does [other domain] solve this?" |
| Assumptions | List assumptions -> Challenge/invert each |
| Forced Connections | Combine 2 unrelated concepts |
| Jobs to be Done | "When [situation], I want [motivation], so I can [outcome]" |
| Oblique Strategies | Random creative prompts to break deadlocks |
| Technique | One-liner |
|---|---|
| Incubation Cycling | Generate -> Pause -> Fresh restart (no prior context) -> Compare |
| Combinatorial Engine | Abstract -> Retrieve 3 domains -> Generalize -> Combine -> Instantiate |
| Multi-Persona Parallel | Run 4+ personas SIMULTANEOUSLY (not sequentially) |
| Constraint Injection | Add random constraint -> Force novel solutions |
| Divergence Guard | Force opposite -> Domain shift -> Absurdity injection |
| TRIZ-AI | Apply inventive principles (segmentation, nesting, dynamization, etc.) |
| Tree of Thoughts | Explore multiple reasoning branches simultaneously (74% vs CoT 49%) |
| Technique | One-liner |
|---|---|
| NAF Quick Score | Rate Novelty + Attractiveness + Feasibility (1-10 each) |
| Impact/Effort Matrix | 2x2: Quick Wins, Big Bets, Fill-ins, Avoid |
| ICE Scoring | Impact x Confidence x Ease (1-10 each) |
| Idea Clustering | Group similar -> Name clusters -> Pick best from each |
| Dot Voting | Each person gets 3-5 votes -> Surface favorites |
| Assumption Mapping | Map assumptions on Importance x Certainty -> Test riskiest first |
After generating ideas, ALWAYS offer evaluation. Default to NAF Quick Score.
| Criterion | Question | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Novelty | How new/surprising is this? | 1-10 |
| Attractiveness | How well does it solve the problem? | 1-10 |
| Feasibility | How realistic to implement? | 1-10 |
Interpretation:
| Situation | Method |
|---|---|
| Quick screening (5+ ideas) | NAF or Dot Voting |
| Growth experiments | ICE Scoring |
| Data-driven product decisions | RICE Scoring |
| Complex multi-criteria | Weighted Scoring Matrix |
| Visual team alignment | Impact/Effort 2x2 |
Rules:
Details: evaluation.md
When ideating for blog posts, videos, courses, or social media:
Pillar = Core theme that reflects expertise + audience needs
Example: Excel -> [Formulas, Data Viz, Automation, Tips & Tricks, Career]
| Source | Questions |
|---|---|
| Pain Points | What frustrates them most? |
| Questions | What do they repeatedly ask? |
| Gaps | What's poorly explained by competitors? |
| Wishes | What do they wish existed? |
| Mistakes | What common errors do they make? |
Apply creativity techniques TO the content pillars:
[ ] Search demand? (keyword research)
[ ] Real audience pain point? (comments, surveys)
[ ] Can I add unique value? (gap analysis)
[ ] Fits my pillars? (strategy alignment)
[ ] Would I click this? (title/thumbnail test)
[ ] Can be repurposed? (1 piece -> 5+ formats)
Blog post -> YouTube video -> Shorts/Reels -> Social posts -> Email -> Course module
Details: content-ideation.md
Shape raw ideas into actionable concepts:
[Generate] -> [Cluster] -> [Evaluate] -> [Develop] -> [Validate] -> [Execute]
IDEA: [Name]
TAGLINE: [One compelling sentence]
PROBLEM: [What pain it solves]
SOLUTION: [How it works - 2-3 sentences]
TARGET USER: [Who benefits]
KEY INSIGHT: [The "aha" behind this]
EFFORT: [S / M / L]
BIGGEST RISK: [What could go wrong]
QUICKEST TEST: [How to validate cheaply]
NEXT STEP: [One concrete action]
Details: idea-pipeline.md
Use these when presenting ideas to the user:
1. **[Idea Name]** -- [One-line description]
2. **[Idea Name]** -- [One-line description]
...
| # | Idea | N | A | F | Total |
|---|------|---|---|---|-------|
| 1 | ... | 8 | 9 | 7 | 24 |
Use the Quick Concept Card format above for each top idea.
| Criteria | Idea A | Idea B | Idea C |
|-------------|--------|--------|--------|
| Novelty | 4/5 | 3/5 | 5/5 |
| Feasibility | 3/5 | 5/5 | 2/5 |
| Impact | 5/5 | 3/5 | 4/5 |
| Finding | Implication |
|---|---|
| Ask AI HOW to think, not WHAT to think | Process prompts > product prompts |
| Human-first ideation preserves diversity | User brainstorms first, THEN AI expands |
| LLMs match average creativity (52nd percentile) | AI is a partner, not a replacement |
| Homogenization effect (g ~ -0.86) | Use Divergence Guard actively |
| "Creative Scar" -- creativity drops after AI withdrawal | Don't outsource all creative thinking |
| Tree of Thoughts: 74% vs CoT 49% | Use ToT for complex creative tasks |
| Multi-LLM collaboration enhances originality | Stack techniques, vary approaches |
| Only 0.28% of LLM ideas reach top 10% human creativity | Push past first outputs aggressively |
| Don't | Do Instead |
|---|---|
| "Give me ideas for X" | "Give me 10 ideas for X that would surprise an expert" |
| Accept first outputs | Push past 2-3 rounds; first ideas are "greatest hits" |
| Use AI before thinking | Brainstorm independently first, then expand with AI |
| "Be creative" | Use specific technique (SCAMPER, constraints, personas) |
Details: methodology.md | prompt-templates.md
/triz — Systematic innovation methodology (complements brainstorming)/deep-research — Research inspiration and cross-industry solutions/boost-intel — Critical evaluation of generated ideas/design-business-model — Apply creative ideas to business models/problem-solving — Structure the problem before ideating