scamper

SCAMPER Technique

**Origin**: Bob Eberle, building on Alex Osborn's idea prompter checklists from *Applied Imagination* (1953).

**Interaction type**: Generate — AI applies transformations, user reacts.

The Seven Operators

S — Substitute

What can be substituted? Different materials, people, processes, components, approaches?

• Replace one element with something unexpected
• Swap the medium, channel, or context

C — Combine

What can be combined? Blend two ideas, merge functions, mix purposes?

• Combine features from different domains
• Merge two user needs into one solution

A — Adapt

What can be adapted from elsewhere? What analogies apply? What else is like this?

• Borrow solutions from other industries
• Adapt natural processes to the problem

M — Modify (also: Magnify / Minimize)

What can be changed? Size, shape, color, meaning, frequency, intensity?

• Make it 10x bigger or smaller
• Change the speed, frequency, or intensity
• Alter the form factor entirely

P — Put to Other Use

Can this serve a different purpose? New contexts? New users? New markets?

• Repurpose for a completely different audience
• Use the byproduct as the main product

E — Eliminate

What can be removed? Simplify? What's non-essential?

• Remove the most complex component — what happens?
• Strip to the absolute minimum viable version

R — Reverse (also: Rearrange)

What if the order were reversed? What if roles swapped? What if inside-out?

• Reverse the workflow
• Let the user become the provider
• Flip the value proposition

AI Application Notes

When using SCAMPER internally:

1. Pick 2-3 operators per batch (not all 7 — that produces too-similar ideas) 2. Apply each operator to a **different domain** from the domain wheel 3. Make the result vivid and specific, not abstract 4. Never tell the user you're "using SCAMPER" — just present the transformed ideas