generate-creative-ideas

name	generate-creative-ideas
description	Creative problem-solving and ideation using SCAMPER, First Principles, Random Word, and AI-optimized techniques. Use when generating ideas, breaking creative blocks, brainstorming alternatives, or innovating.

Creativity Skill

Workflow

1. Ask       → "What problem/challenge?"
2. Context   → Understand current state BEFORE suggesting
3. Diagnose  → Match situation to technique(s)
4. Generate  → Walk through technique step-by-step
5. Evaluate  → Score and filter ideas
6. Develop   → Shape top ideas into actionable concepts
7. Output    → Structured ideas + next actions (Thai if user uses Thai)

Context questions (step 2):

• "What do you currently do?"
• "What have you tried?"
• "What's working? What's not?"

Anti-pattern: Jumping to solutions without understanding context = generic noise

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Situation -> Technique Matrix

Situation	Techniques	Combination Recipe
Stuck / No ideas	Random Word, Forced Connections, Oblique Strategies	Random Word -> Forced Connections -> Dot Vote
Need breakthrough	First Principles, Challenging Assumptions, Combinatorial Engine	HMW -> Worst Idea -> SCAMPER -> Brainwriting
Improve existing	SCAMPER, Reverse Brainstorming, TRIZ-AI	SCAMPER -> Reverse Brainstorm -> Impact/Effort
Explore systematically	Morphological Box, Six Thinking Hats, Constraint Injection	Morphological Box -> Constraint Injection -> Clustering
Reframe problem	How Might We (HMW), Jobs to be Done	HMW -> JTBD -> First Principles
Team ideation	6-3-5 Brainwriting, Multi-Persona Parallel	Mind Map -> Brainwriting -> Affinity -> Multi-Vote
Too many ideas	Impact/Effort Matrix, Idea Clustering, NAF Scoring	Clustering -> NAF Quick Score -> Impact/Effort
AI ideas too similar	Divergence Guard, Constraint Injection, Incubation Cycling	Divergence Guard -> Domain Shift -> Incubation
Technical/engineering	TRIZ-AI, First Principles	TRIZ -> First Principles -> Assumption Mapping
Cross-domain innovation	Combinatorial Engine, Analogical Thinking	Combinatorial Engine -> Analogical -> Constraint
Content ideas (blog/video/course)	Content Pillars, Audience Pain Points, Gap Analysis	Pillars -> Pain Points -> SCAMPER -> Validate
Business/product ideas	JTBD, Opportunity Canvas, Lean Validation	JTBD -> HMW -> Morphological -> ICE Score

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Technique Quick Reference

Divergent (Generate)

Technique	One-liner
SCAMPER	7 lenses: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to other use, Eliminate, Reverse
Random Word	Random noun -> list attributes -> force connections to problem
Reverse Brainstorm	"How to make it worse?" -> Invert each idea
First Principles	Strip to fundamentals -> Rebuild from scratch
Six Hats	6 perspectives: Facts, Feelings, Risks, Benefits, Ideas, Process
HMW	Reframe as "How Might We [verb] for [user] so that [outcome]?"
Morphological Box	Parameters x Variations matrix -> Combine systematically
Analogies	"How does [other domain] solve this?"
Assumptions	List assumptions -> Challenge/invert each
Forced Connections	Combine 2 unrelated concepts
Jobs to be Done	"When [situation], I want [motivation], so I can [outcome]"
Oblique Strategies	Random creative prompts to break deadlocks

AI-Optimized (Generate + Diversify)

Technique	One-liner
Incubation Cycling	Generate -> Pause -> Fresh restart (no prior context) -> Compare
Combinatorial Engine	Abstract -> Retrieve 3 domains -> Generalize -> Combine -> Instantiate
Multi-Persona Parallel	Run 4+ personas SIMULTANEOUSLY (not sequentially)
Constraint Injection	Add random constraint -> Force novel solutions
Divergence Guard	Force opposite -> Domain shift -> Absurdity injection
TRIZ-AI	Apply inventive principles (segmentation, nesting, dynamization, etc.)
Tree of Thoughts	Explore multiple reasoning branches simultaneously (74% vs CoT 49%)

Convergent (Evaluate + Refine)

Technique	One-liner
NAF Quick Score	Rate Novelty + Attractiveness + Feasibility (1-10 each)
Impact/Effort Matrix	2x2: Quick Wins, Big Bets, Fill-ins, Avoid
ICE Scoring	Impact x Confidence x Ease (1-10 each)
Idea Clustering	Group similar -> Name clusters -> Pick best from each
Dot Voting	Each person gets 3-5 votes -> Surface favorites
Assumption Mapping	Map assumptions on Importance x Certainty -> Test riskiest first

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Idea Evaluation

After generating ideas, ALWAYS offer evaluation. Default to NAF Quick Score.

NAF Quick Score (Default)

Criterion	Question	Scale
Novelty	How new/surprising is this?	1-10
Attractiveness	How well does it solve the problem?	1-10
Feasibility	How realistic to implement?	1-10

Interpretation:

• Total 24-30: Strong candidate -> develop further
• Total 18-23: Promising -> refine or combine
• Total < 18: Weak -> park or discard
• Feasibility 8+: Worth trying (remaining 20% is implementation)
• High N+A but low F: Reframe feasibility barriers as new problems to solve

When to Use Which Evaluation

Situation	Method
Quick screening (5+ ideas)	NAF or Dot Voting
Growth experiments	ICE Scoring
Data-driven product decisions	RICE Scoring
Complex multi-criteria	Weighted Scoring Matrix
Visual team alignment	Impact/Effort 2x2

Rules:

1. NEVER evaluate during divergent phase -- generate first, judge later
2. Take a break between generating and evaluating (different mindset)
3. Different idea types need different criteria (incremental vs disruptive)

Details: evaluation.md

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Content Creator Mode

When ideating for blog posts, videos, courses, or social media:

Step 1: Define Content Pillars (3-5 themes)

Pillar = Core theme that reflects expertise + audience needs
Example: Excel -> [Formulas, Data Viz, Automation, Tips & Tricks, Career]

Step 2: Audience-First Ideation

Source	Questions
Pain Points	What frustrates them most?
Questions	What do they repeatedly ask?
Gaps	What's poorly explained by competitors?
Wishes	What do they wish existed?
Mistakes	What common errors do they make?

Step 3: Generate Ideas (use any technique from matrix)

Apply creativity techniques TO the content pillars:

• SCAMPER on existing popular content
• Reverse brainstorm: "How to make the worst tutorial?"
• Analogies: "How would Netflix teach Excel?"

Step 4: Validate Before Creating

[ ] Search demand? (keyword research)
[ ] Real audience pain point? (comments, surveys)
[ ] Can I add unique value? (gap analysis)
[ ] Fits my pillars? (strategy alignment)
[ ] Would I click this? (title/thumbnail test)
[ ] Can be repurposed? (1 piece -> 5+ formats)

Repurposing Chain

Blog post -> YouTube video -> Shorts/Reels -> Social posts -> Email -> Course module

Details: content-ideation.md

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Idea Development Pipeline

Shape raw ideas into actionable concepts:

[Generate] -> [Cluster] -> [Evaluate] -> [Develop] -> [Validate] -> [Execute]

Quick Concept Card (for top ideas)

IDEA: [Name]
TAGLINE: [One compelling sentence]
PROBLEM: [What pain it solves]
SOLUTION: [How it works - 2-3 sentences]
TARGET USER: [Who benefits]
KEY INSIGHT: [The "aha" behind this]
EFFORT: [S / M / L]
BIGGEST RISK: [What could go wrong]
QUICKEST TEST: [How to validate cheaply]
NEXT STEP: [One concrete action]

Assumption Mapping (for important ideas)

1. List assumptions: "What must be true for this to work?"
2. Categorize: Desirability / Feasibility / Viability
3. Map on 2x2: Importance (high/low) x Certainty (high/low)
4. Test high-importance + low-certainty FIRST

Details: idea-pipeline.md

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Output Formats

Use these when presenting ideas to the user:

Quick List (5+ ideas)

1. **[Idea Name]** -- [One-line description]
2. **[Idea Name]** -- [One-line description]
...

Scored List (after evaluation)

| # | Idea | N | A | F | Total |
|---|------|---|---|---|-------|
| 1 | ...  | 8 | 9 | 7 | 24    |

Concept Cards (top 3 ideas)

Use the Quick Concept Card format above for each top idea.

Comparison Matrix (deciding between options)

| Criteria     | Idea A | Idea B | Idea C |
|-------------|--------|--------|--------|
| Novelty     | 4/5    | 3/5    | 5/5    |
| Feasibility | 3/5    | 5/5    | 2/5    |
| Impact      | 5/5    | 3/5    | 4/5    |

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AI Creativity Guidelines

Key Research Insights (2025-2026)

Finding	Implication
Ask AI HOW to think, not WHAT to think	Process prompts > product prompts
Human-first ideation preserves diversity	User brainstorms first, THEN AI expands
LLMs match average creativity (52nd percentile)	AI is a partner, not a replacement
Homogenization effect (g ~ -0.86)	Use Divergence Guard actively
"Creative Scar" -- creativity drops after AI withdrawal	Don't outsource all creative thinking
Tree of Thoughts: 74% vs CoT 49%	Use ToT for complex creative tasks
Multi-LLM collaboration enhances originality	Stack techniques, vary approaches
Only 0.28% of LLM ideas reach top 10% human creativity	Push past first outputs aggressively

AI Role Rules

• Best as: Exploration partner, constraint enforcer, analogy finder, elaborator
• Avoid: Sole ideation source, final decision maker
• Timing: After initial human ideation, not before
• Override rate: Maintain 15-25% human override for optimal outcomes

Anti-Patterns

Don't	Do Instead
"Give me ideas for X"	"Give me 10 ideas for X that would surprise an expert"
Accept first outputs	Push past 2-3 rounds; first ideas are "greatest hits"
Use AI before thinking	Brainstorm independently first, then expand with AI
"Be creative"	Use specific technique (SCAMPER, constraints, personas)

Details: methodology.md | prompt-templates.md

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References

• Step-by-step guides: techniques.md
• AI methodology & research: methodology.md
• Random word bank: random-words.md
• Evaluation frameworks: evaluation.md
• Content creator ideation: content-ideation.md
• Idea development pipeline: idea-pipeline.md
• AI prompt templates: prompt-templates.md

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Related Skills

• /triz — Systematic innovation methodology (complements brainstorming)
• /deep-research — Research inspiration and cross-industry solutions
• /boost-intel — Critical evaluation of generated ideas
• /design-business-model — Apply creative ideas to business models
• /problem-solving — Structure the problem before ideating