Eight Dimensional Methodology for Innovative Thinking

Dr. Daniel Raviv, Department of Electrical Engineering, Florida Atlantic University
ravivd@fau.edu

“ ...a unified and systematic approach for generating ideas that overcomes the disadvantages of existing methods and uses past experiences from many disciplines.”

1. Introduction

There are many idea generation methods, a fact that sometimes makes the idea generation part of the problem solving process confusing. After all, how would one know which method to use and which is the best for a specific problem? Some methods are systematic, others are more heuristic, some leave lots of space for creative thinking, and many are more “linear.” Further, a significant number of such methods are time consuming, or must be used in team settings. In many methods, past problem solving experience is sparsely documented, and as such, each time there is a need to start “from scratch” and rely on creative or experienced people to find new ideas. Another limitation of problem solving methods is their restricted scope, i.e., they can be applied only to particular sub-sets of problems.
The Eight-Dimensional Methodology for Innovative Thinking is a unified and systematic approach for generating ideas that overcomes the disadvantages of existing methods and uses past experiences from many disciplines; it is an approach that allows one to exercise different levels of creativity, and to stimulate innovation by quickly generating many unique “out-of-the-box,” unexpected, and high-quality solutions.

Here is how it works:

You explore solutions in eight different thinking directions, one at a time. In each direction, or dimension, you are guided through multiple questions or suggestions that stimulate your mind and that may lead to solutions. You may choose to use the dimensions at a very basic level by asking only eight different questions, or at deeper, more detailed levels of specific sub-strategies to maximize the number of solutions. You may start with a dimension of your choice, and then continue to any other of the remaining seven dimensions etc., until you are done with all of them. In other words, you may practice the dimensions in any order to solve problems. Note that it is not a problem-solving cookbook but rather a tool to stimulate the mind in specific thinking directions.
It should be emphasized that the Eight-Dimensional Methodology focuses ONLY on the idea generation step of the problem solving process. In addition, the eight dimensions are not mutually exclusive, i.e., some solutions may be found in more than one dimension.

2. The Eight Dimensions’ Questions

If you choose to explore solutions at a non-detailed level, the following are the related questions that you may ask:

Uniqueness: What is unique about the “processes, objects, dimensions, situations, resources, concepts, principles, features, patterns, problems, or solutions?” Could these observations be used to find solutions?

Dimensionality: What could be done with space, time, color, temperature, or any other dimension?

Directionality: Could things be done from different directions or points of view? If so, how?

Consolidation: Would it be helpful to consolidate “processes, objects, dimensions, situations, resources, concepts, principles, features, patterns, problems, or solutions?” If so, in what way(s)?

Segmentation: How could division of “processes, objects, dimensions, situations, resources, concepts, principles, features, patterns, problems, solutions or dimensions” help?

Modification: What if modifications to the existing “processes, objects, dimensions, situations, resources, concepts, principles, features, patterns, problems, or solutions” are introduced?

Similarity: Why not look at similar “processes, objects, dimensions, situations, resources, concepts, principles, features, patterns, problems, or solutions?”

Experimentation: Could estimating, guessing, simulating, or experimenting help? If so, how?

3. Introducing the Eight-Dimensional Methodology to Students

The methodology has been implemented in different team and individual settings as part of a class titled “Introduction to Inventive Problem Solving in Engineering” at Florida Atlantic University. The course uses hands-on problem-based learning for introducing undergraduate students to concepts and principles of inventive/innovative problem solving. The hands-on activities include more than 250 different 3-D mechanical puzzles, games, mind teasers, LEGO® Mindstorms competitions, and design projects, each of which illustrates principles and strategies of inventive/innovative problem solving.

The methodology has been evaluated several times over the past few years. Consistently there has been a huge increase in the number of ideas generated by students who were familiar with it.

Using the above illustration, students are able to get a first basic understanding of the methodology.

Uniqueness: the stealth bomber is chosen to emphasize a unique design of a plane.

Dimensionality: a tri-wing airplane shows an addition of a “third dimension” to the wing structure.

Directionality: an airplane with forward-swept wings illustrates the effect of changing wing direction on airplane maneuverability.

Consolidation: several parachutes are put together to handle a heavy load. In addition, a seaplane consolidates two different transportation functions.

Segmentation: a large load is being released in pieces using several independent parachutes.

Modification: a passenger plane is modified to become a flying electronic laboratory.

Similarity: two similar paper planes are shown.

Experimentation: a flight simulator allows for relatively inexpensive pilot training.

The following problem was presented in class to illustrate the high level use (i.e., without using sub-strategies) of the Eight-Dimensional Methodology. It is intentionally simple and non-technical.

The coffee cup problem

Dr. Coff was drinking coffee in a restaurant when he saw a bug floating in his cup.

“ Waiter,” he yelled, “there is a bug in my coffee. Would you please replace it with another cup?” “Certainly!” replied the waiter. Moments after Dr. Coff got the coffee, he exclaimed:

“ Waiter, what’s going on? This is the same cup of coffee!!!”

Question: How did he know?

By leading the students to explore “one dimension at a time,” they are asked to list ideas (even if the same idea comes to mind in two different dimensions).

Uniqueness

Ideas listed:

Dimensionality

Ideas listed:

Directionality

Ideas listed:

Consolidation

Ideas listed:

Segmentation

Ideas listed:

Modification

Ideas listed:

Similarity

Ideas listed:

Experimentation

Ideas listed:

The following “comics problem” is another non-technical, introductory problem to the “Eight Dimensions.” Students were asked to write down solutions, first without the methodology and later with it. In the beginning, the average number of ideas was about five per student. When students used the methodology and its sub-strategies to find solutions, however, the number of ideas generated by each student varied from 15 to 35.

The comics problem

Every morning T and G, two kids of the R family, sit on opposite sides of the table trying to read the same comics section of the newspaper at the same time. Their parents RR and DR struggle with the following problem: How can they both read the comics without fighting?

Solutions are not provided here, but the reader is encouraged to try to suggest some solutions (first without, then by) using the eight dimensions.

Students are introduced to the different dimensions using a set of brainteasers, 3-D puzzles, products, services, advertisements, commercials, jokes, etc. They list ideas for several new problems, and detail examples from different disciplines that illustrate the use of the methodology. They design prototypes and compete using LEGO® Mindstorms kits. The following are some example-based explanations for the different strategies that are used in the classroom:

Example for the Uniqueness dimension

There is a need to separate juicy from non-juicy oranges at a high rate. How can this be achieved?

A solution: Look for a feature or property of an orange that highly correlates with juiciness. Obviously it is not color, size, weight, or texture. The main property that distinguishes the juiciness of oranges is specific density. To measure the specific density, it is not necessary to measure the weight and volume of each orange separately and then find the ratio of the two. It can be done directly by observing the time it takes for an orange to surface from under the water after being dropped from a certain height. The longer the time, the juicier the orange. This simple “uniqueness” dimension was used to separate oranges at a high rate, by letting them slide into a canal with moving water that had some longitudinal dividers. When an orange surfaces, it appears between two dividers, signifying a certain level of juiciness.

Example for the Dimensionality dimension

One of the major problems in automatically picking an object from a pile (known as the “bin-picking” problem) using a robotic arm, a camera, and a computer, is to identify which object is on top.

A solution: Set a down-looking camera above the bin. Move a light source around the bin and record images. The portions in the images that get no shadow when illuminated from different directions belong to surfaces of objects on top. Analyze the images to identify these bright areas, and use them to identify the top object(s) to be picked up later with a robotic arm. Here the dimension of time was added to solve the problem.

Example for the Directionality dimension

A frequently used sub-strategy in this category is “starting backwards,” i.e., starting from the desired state and working towards the initial state. A well-known example is: An eight-gallon jug is full of water, and three-gallon and five-gallon jugs are empty. Without using any other containers, divide the water into two equal amounts.

A solution: Using “x-y-z” (x for the 3, y for the 5, and z for the 8 gallon jug) to signify the actual water content (in gallons) in each jug, and working backwards leads to: 0-4-4, 3-4-1, 2-5-1, 2-0-6, 0-2-6, 3-2-3, 0-5-3, 0-0-8. (0-0-8 is the given starting contents of the jugs).

Example for the Consolidation dimension

How would you measure the diameter of a thin wire with a regular ruler?

A solution: Wind the wire around a cylinder to form a coil. Measure the linear length of many diameters (say, 100) and then divide the result by the number of rotations (100). For example, if the total measured length of 100 diameters is 8 mm (+/- 0.5mm), by dividing by 100, the diameter of one wire can be obtained: 0.08 (+/-0.005) mm.

Examples for the Segmentation dimension

Venetian blinds are made of many parts. Railroad trains and cars are many independent parts put together. Garden hoses can be joined together to form a longer hose. Personal computers are modular to allow flexibility in personalizing and changing them, as well as for easy maintenance.

Example for the Modification dimension

A popular sub-strategy in this case is “add feedback.” Feedback can be added to a system or may be an integral part of it. Examples: The cruise control system of a car uses velocity feedback to maintain a constant speed; some eyeglasses adjust to ambient light by changing the color of the lenses.

Example for the Similarity dimension

At a meeting, everybody shakes hands with every other person. Altogether there are 28 handshakes. How many people are in the meeting?

An approach in this case is to find a pattern in the number of handshakes, starting with two people only, then three, and so on. Quickly enough an arithmetic sum pattern is discovered and can be used to solve the problem.

Example for the Experimentation dimension

Estimate the number of barbers in New York City. (Students need to make their own assumptions, and justify the different steps in obtaining an estimation).

The following is one of many brain-teasers that has been used in class to learn the experimentation dimension:

experimentation
There are many solutions to this problem, for example: (5 x 10) + (24 x 3) – 2 = 120, and (52 –10) / 3 x 24 = 120.

If you would like to learn more about the Eight Dimensions and other innovative projects at Florida Atlantic University, the following articles by Daniel Raviv are available at: http://www.asee.org/conferences/

D. Raviv, “Eight-Dimensional Methodology for Innovative Thinking,” American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) National Conference, Montreal, June 2002.
D. Raviv, “Do We Teach Them How to Think?” American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) National Conference, Montreal, June 2002.
D. Raviv, “Learning Systematic Problem Solving: Case Studies,” American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) National Conference, Nashville, June 2003.

* This work has been supported in part by the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA), and was supported in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation, Division of Information, Robotics and Intelligent Systems, Grant # IIS-9615688.