Transcript for EO403 - Creativity Methods - Lotus Methods.PDF

Graduate Apprenticeship - Engineering Design and Manufacture Class: EO403 - Design for X Creativity Methods - Lotus Methods In this video, we're going to look at the Lotus method, a method for producing concepts and ideas. So what is the Lotus method? It's another creative thinking technique, but it...

Graduate Apprenticeship - Engineering Design and Manufacture Class: EO403 - Design for X Creativity Methods - Lotus Methods In this video, we're going to look at the Lotus method, a method for producing concepts and ideas. So what is the Lotus method? It's another creative thinking technique, but it's structured. It's a structured brainstorming exercise used to expand on a central idea or on a problem. This method was invented in Japan by Yasuo Matsumura. It adds focus and power to the classic brainstorming, but most importantly, it adds an element of structure and order to what, again, might be a very chaotic process, brainstorming. The technique helps create more and more quality ideas for products and services. It also helps discover innovative ways of improving businesses, and it helps us to solve and unpick a variety of problems in a very easy and systematic way. The Lotus method is based around a grid. It starts with a 3 by 3 grid in the center, and then is surrounded by eight 3 by 3 grids. The idea is to put the problem in the center and then work out solutions from that point. I will now take you through the process. The original problem statement that you're trying to address or the theme that you might want to unpick is placed in the center box in the centre of the 3 by 3 matrix. Around this box, within the central box, any related solution or themes are brainstormed and entered into those eight boxes around the central core problem. After filling out the whole of the central box, there are eight new grids around this box, and what we do is we take each of those different ideas or solutions from the central box and fill them into the centre of the surrounding grids. This process then repeats itself, with the group, or even an individual, yourself, adding eight more ideas or eight solutions for each of the eight initial aspects that you had for your first central grid. On completion, assuming that you've filled in all the boxes, you will have at least 65 new ideas or solutions to the problem that you initially had. Here's an example of the Lotus methods. We're using the 3 by 3 grid in the center, and surrounding that, we have eight more 3 by 3 grids, thus creating a large 3 by 3 matrix of 3 by 3 matrices. I'm going to put the problem of how to improve poor quality air in city centres into the middle of the grid. I am now going to think of eight ways to solve this. So I'm going to brainstorm these either in a group or by myself. So I first of all think about the problem, and I start to unpick it and I come up with, well, what if we got rid of cars, vehicles, buses, and so on? That becomes my first solution. What if we adapted vehicles that we already have? Or what if we came up with new ideas for new vehicles which don't contribute as much air pollution? What if we started to think about filtering the air or taking the toxins out of the air? What if we looked at more green spaces, because we know that green spaces give out oxygen, which can help purify the air. It also takes away carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide gases. What if we Page 1/2 look at the people? What if we look at how we could protect them from the poor quality air? What about looking at the locations? Where are the bad spots? Where are the spots with good quality air? And what can we do about that? So now I have eight different areas that I want to focus on as potential solutions to the problem with the air quality in the city center, and I can go through each of those in turn and break those down even further. So for example, people. We could look at the possibility of them wearing masks. We could look at their clothing and incorporate something into that. We could look at pram covers, because we know that a large majority of children are affected by poor quality air in city centres, and so on. What you're trying to do is to produce the most number of concepts and ideas. And should you fill in all those boxes, you should end up with 64 ideas to the problem initially suggested. So try this method, this Lotus method for problems that you may have to come up with new, but structured and organised solutions to the problem. Page 2/2