Creativity and Innovation
What this domain tests
Your ability to distinguish idea generation from implementation, name a few practical techniques, and show them working on a real small-business problem.
Core concepts
- Creativity is producing something new and useful in thought; innovation is turning that idea into a product, process or service that is used or sold. Invention is the first creation of something; innovation adds commercial or practical application.
- Wallas's four stages: preparation (gathering knowledge), incubation (unconscious processing), illumination (the insight), verification (testing and refining).
- Types of innovation: product, process, marketing and organisational (the Oslo Manual categories); also incremental (small improvements) versus radical (major breakthroughs) versus disruptive (cheaper or simpler offer that reshapes a market).
- Techniques: brainstorming (Osgood) - defer judgement, encourage wild ideas, build on others; SCAMPER - Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, Reverse; mind mapping; the 5 Whys; reverse brainstorming.
- Barriers: fear of criticism, mental set, conformity, resource limits, rigid routines.
Worked example
A shop selling school bags faces falling sales. Apply SCAMPER: Substitute nylon for canvas to cut weight; Combine a bag with a reflective strip; Adapt a laptop sleeve into the school bag; Modify a wider shoulder strap; Put to another use sell the same design as a travel bag; Eliminate the extra front pocket to cut cost by ₹20; Reverse let the child design the flap through an online contest. Reasoning: every idea is then screened for cost and demand - the strip and lighter fabric survive; the design contest is kept only as low-cost promotion.
Traps that cost marks
- Treating creativity and innovation as synonyms; innovation must reach the market.
- Writing SCAMPER letters in the wrong order - the first letter of each word spells SCAMPER.
- Listing brainstorming rules but forgetting "no criticism during idea generation".