Tools · Idea generation
SCAMPER
Seven questions that turn something you already know into new ideas. Pick a thing, answer one letter at a time, and leave with a list worth building on.
SCAMPER was put together by Bob Eberle in 1971, from Alex Osborn's idea-spurring questions. Where it comes from
0 of 7 letters answered
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No ideas yet for this letter. Even a silly one helps the next one along.
Your SCAMPER
Your ideas
Next: star your top three (tap ☆ on any letter), then ask of each one: who would use it, and what's the smallest version you could try this week?
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Where SCAMPER comes from
In 1953 the advertising executive Alex Osborn, who also gave us the word "brainstorming", published a checklist of questions for sparking ideas in his book Applied Imagination. In 1971 the educator Bob Eberle arranged those questions into the easy-to-remember word SCAMPER, in SCAMPER: Games for Imagination Development.
The questions, examples and diagram on this page are written by Invent + Discover. How to use it:
- Pick one specific thing. "Our college canteen" works better than "food".
- Go letter by letter. Quantity first: judge later.
- Not every letter will fit every topic. Skip one if it's stuck, and come back.
- At the end, star the few ideas worth testing.