{"id":15241,"date":"2018-03-13T10:00:48","date_gmt":"2018-03-13T09:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hatrabbits.com\/?p=15241"},"modified":"2023-11-21T11:59:21","modified_gmt":"2023-11-21T10:59:21","slug":"morphological-matrix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hatrabbits.com\/en\/morphological-matrix\/","title":{"rendered":"How to generate thousands of ideas in mere minutes; the Morphological Matrix"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are few techniques that will give you more ideas per minute than the Morphological Matrix. Read on and discover how a simple matrix will enable you to generate thousands, even tens of thousands, of possibilities in the time it takes to grab a cup of coffee.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Thousands of ideas in minutes<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Like I\u2019ve written before, creativity is all about quantity. There is always a better idea<\/span><\/a> and the more ideas you generate, the bigger chances of stumbling upon something brilliant. In other words; quantity leads to quality<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Creative thinking techniques can help you to generate many ideas in a short period of time. For instance, asking yourself what someone else would do<\/a><\/span> in your situation can help to quickly generate many alternative ideas.<\/p>\n

Other tricks you can try are using a random image<\/a><\/span>, a random verb<\/a><\/span> or a list of stimulating questions<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

There is one technique, however, that enables you to generate many more ideas than even with the powerful techniques above. It’s called the Morphological Matrix<\/em>. This technique, comparable to the HIT grid<\/a><\/span>, allows you to generate thousands of possible ideas in mere minutes.<\/p>\n

Sounds crazy, right? Here\u2019s how it works.<\/p>\n

The Morphological Matrix<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The Morphological Matrix is a simple technique to quickly generate many different possibilities to answer a \u2018how can we\u2026\u2019 question.<\/p>\n

Step 1. Pick attributes<\/strong>
\nDescribe the key attributes that play a role in your challenge. Write them down next to each other, horizontally.<\/p>\n

Step 2. List possible components per attribute<\/strong>
\nMake a list of possible components for each attribute and list these components beneath the attribute, thus creating columns.<\/p>\n

Step 3. Combine components from each column, randomly<\/strong>
\nTake one random component from every list and combine them to generate a new idea. Use a dice to generate random numbers, or simply try every possible combination one-by-one (warning: if you want to try every possibility you might be busy for a while).<\/p>\n

If you have three lists with 10 components each, you\u2019ll have 1,000 possible ideas. Have you generated one more list with 10 components? Then you already have 10,000 possible ideas!<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve generated many different ideas, pick the most promising ones to examine closer.<\/p>\n

When do you use the Morphological Matrix?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

You can use the Morphological Matrix to find creative ways to shape a new product, service, experience or story. Possible challenges that are perfectly suited for using the Morphological Matrix:<\/p>\n