Transcript

Basic Introduction

Welcome Friends. We are now half way through the course. Till now we have been going through, understanding Design Thinking, which is a very powerful tool to solve agricultural drudgery problems or in developing innovative solutions in the field of agriculture. Design thinking has 5 steps.

1. So the first was empathy study
2. The next was defining the problem, which we saw in detail.

So the next two steps are going to be

1. Creating solutions
2. then prototype testing
3. And finally we will do validation.

Topics Covered last Week

Till now what we saw was

1. Understanding customer through various communication tools, such as empathy mapping
2. Understanding voice of the customer
3. Learn how to translate customer needs
4. And how to define design specification using House of Quality

This week we will try to explore idea generation process for product design through creativity mapping tools. So creativity is something which people always think it is very difficult. But if you have a wellstructured process of doing an empathy study and defining a problem, which is in a broad way but trying to capture minute things. Then creativity which is the next step or ideation which is the next step becomes very easy. So in this presentation we will see, how do we practice creativity, or what are all the stumbling blocks towards our creativity.

Introduction

Creativity is a combination and recombination of previous experience that form a new combination, thus satisfying the needs. So the development of an idea, that are new to a person, leading to the discovery of different or alternative design, methods, systems or processes, that will accomplish the basic function at minimum cost can be defined as creativity. So in creativity we try to explore all possibilities. Try to choose the best possibility. And then we also keep minimum cost as a constraint and solve the problem.

So if you look at this diagram. It is an inverted or it is a funnel diagram.

• So here we have a preparatory phase which we have already gone through
• Next one is the induction phase, wherein we try to use a tool called as brainstorming, which we will see in the next lecture.

Blocks to Creativity

There are several blocks to creativity. We will see those blocks one after the other after the other.

Habitual blocks. Always try to use tried and tested solutions. This is called as a habitual block. We always try to solve a problem in a known way. And why is that. That is because of our habitual. So here we try to find the habitual use. And after we try to find out the habitual use, we try to codify, understand the commonality. And then we try to adopt the habitual, which we have understanding. And then we try to modify it to go towards a creative solution. So many a times when we try to, this habitual block tries to even dictate. For example everyday morning getting up at 5 o’clock and going to or doing a routine. Going to the field, doing this, doing that. That is habitual. If I wanted to disturb that habitual cycle, it is always a big mindset and a block. Moment you have a mindset and a block, then creativity cannot be thought of in a big way. So this is a big block towards creativity.

Next one is Perceptual block. These are the obstacles that prevent the problem solver from clearly perceiving either the problem itself or the information needed to solve it. So here this is a perceptual block. I try to conceive like this and I try to solve the problem. But your conceiving, whatever was it need not be what was customer choice. Your perception is also a block in solving a problem, wherein which you put in your thought process and not the customer’s choice. So here this is also an obstacle that prevents problem solvers from clearly perceiving either the problem itself or the information needed to solve it.

So here you will have stereotype solutions will come, because you thought this is how the problem to be solved, this is how the problem is. So we always try to have a stereotype idea, and then we also have limiting the problem unnecessarily. So this is the problem statement. And for this problem statement; you understood this. And now what you have done is, you have limited your problem understanding and tried to solve. But whereas the customer requirement was a large. Was a large area, but you have perceived it over the small area of the problem. And you have tried to solve this and then get the solutions. The next is saturation or overload of information is also something which quite happens in this block.

The next one is a Cultural block. We always think culture is good, and culture tries to teach you many things. In the same way it also comes with a block. So the creativity is blocked by habitual. It is blocked by your perceiving. And it is also blocked by cultural.

• Desire to use the proper pattern, customs or methods. This is a cultural block.
• Thinking, that indulging in fantasy is a waste of time. So that means to say that if somebody says, I am thinking. We always say, thinking is a wasteful job. So don’t waste your time. This is a cultural block. Start working rather than thinking. Okay, this thought process is something which is a cultural block. And this not many people accept it.
• Having faith and confidence, only in reason and logic. So this is also a cultural block. So they don’t think wild. Think, go out of the box is not possible. So this is also a block for creativity. For example let us go back to the Amla pricking machine.

So people always thought, while doing grating, it has to be done on a flat plane grating. So they were not even allowing us to think of a process, why don’t we put it inside a conical grating, and tried to grate the Amla. Amla is gooseberry, so which is a fruit where inside you have a shell. Hardcore shell and this shell is covered with a pulp, which is going to be used for medicinal value or for food consumption.

The other important block of creativity is going to be the Emotional block. Emotional block is something very dangerous. If I do this, I might fail.

• So fear of appearing foolish or of making a mistake is an emotional block
• Second thing is fear of distrust from supervisors or colleagues and subordinates
• Over motivating oneself to succeed quickly
• The next is, in achieving an objective, refusal to make any rerouting. So that means to say you have moved in this process. So suppose in between you realize there is a mistake. So we don’t take a detour and then understand what is the mistake, and then go back to finding the solution.
• Next is failure to reject choice which are satisfactory, yet which are clearly sub-ideal. So these are emotional blocks, which is also part of blocking from creativity.

If we are able to remove all these 4 blocks. Habitual block, then we are looking into our perceptual block, then we were talking about cultural block, then emotional block. These are the four major blocks, which tries to affect us, moving towards creativity.

So some of the factors which support to creativity are orientation, motivation and permissive atmosphere.

• So orientation is development of an attitude that is best suitable for imagination. This is a factor which has to support creativity. Allow people to think beyond the box. Allow people to make imaginations. That’s why if you go back to our empathy study. We were talking about narrating a story; persona. For example if I want 100 characters, and all these 100 characters have to be memorized.It is very difficult for you to just memorize the 100 characters. So that is why in storytelling what they do is they try to link each character. And when they try to link each character, they also try to give an event or a small anecdote, such that all these characters are connected. When a reader reads through it, he has a understanding of the complete problem.
  So here imagination. Orientation for imagination is a supporting factor for creativity.
• Then next one is motivation. There has to be an incentive given for creativity. So an essential vitality is summoned to work towards an objective and accomplishing it. So there has to be a motivation which is given. So this motivation leads to creativity.
• Then permissive atmosphere. An atmosphere, wherein which we don’t put any of those 4 blocks, which we talked earlier. So then there is a lead for creativity.

Summary

To summarize,

• Creativity is a process which combines and recombines our previous experience.
• There are 4 blocks
  o Habitual block
  o Perceptual block
  o Cultural block
  o Emotional block
• And permissible atmosphere is an environment in which new thoughts are motivated.

Thank You.