SCAMPER is a creative thinking method that uses seven trigger questions (substitute, combine, adapt, modify, put to other uses, eliminate, and reverse) to transform an existing product, service, or process into new ideas. It helps unlock idea generation sessions when the team is familiar with the problem but struggles to move beyond the obvious.
SCAMPER is an acronym (Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to other uses, Eliminate, Reverse). Instead of asking the team to "think of new ideas" without further guidance, the method takes something that already exists and subjects it to seven specific transformations. This restriction, paradoxically, unleashes creativity: it's easier to modify something concrete than to invent from scratch.
In our workshops, we almost always use it after having clearly defined a service, a touchpoint, or a specific functionality using tools like the customer journey. Without that clear starting point, SCAMPER questions fall flat.
- Substitute: What element, material, person, or step of the service could we replace with another?
- Combine: What would happen if we combined this service with another, or two steps into one?
- Adapt: What idea from another industry or context could we adapt to this problem?
- Modify (or magnify/minimize): What happens if we exaggerate or minimize a feature?
- Put to other uses: Could this product or process serve another audience or another purpose?
- Eliminate: What steps, fields, or functions could we remove without losing value?
- Reverse (or reorder): What happens if we change the order of the steps or reverse the logic of the service?
It's not mandatory to go through all seven in every session. In two-hour workshops, we usually choose three or four that make the most sense for the specific problem, rather than forcing the complete journey.
SCAMPER works best in the idea generation stage, when there is already a concrete service, prototype, or process to work on, not when starting from scratch. If the team is still unclear about the problem, it's advisable to first go through an inquiry stage (for example, with in-depth interviews) before sitting down to apply the method.
It also works well as a complement to other silent idea generation dynamics: first, you open with brainwriting to avoid anchoring the group in a single direction, and then you use SCAMPER to force variations on the ideas that have already emerged.
In a two-day workshop with a customer service team from a financial services company, we took the consumer loan application process as the object of work. With teams of 4 people and post-its of one color per question, this was part of what came out:
- Substitute: Change the paper form to a guided conversation on WhatsApp.
- Combine: Merge the identity verification step with the contract signing step.
- Eliminate: Remove the "personal references" field, which the risk team almost never used.
- Reverse: First show the estimated approved amount and only then ask for documents, to reduce abandonment.
None of these ideas came "out of nowhere": all of them started from a real step of the service that the team knew by heart, which greatly accelerated the conversation compared to an open brainstorming.
| Block | Duration | What to do |
|---|
| Framing | 10 min | Present the chosen process or service with a simple diagram on the wall |
| Round per question | 8-10 min per letter | Each person writes 2-3 ideas on post-its for the active question, in silence |
| Share out | 15 min | Post-its are read aloud and grouped by affinity |
| Closing | 10 min | The team marks with a dot the 3 ideas they are most interested in exploring further |
The materials are minimal: post-its, markers, a wall or whiteboard, and a visible clock. The operational key is to respect the times per question: if a letter generates silence, you move on anyway, because not all questions produce the same number of ideas.
- Applying all seven questions without filtering which ones make sense for the problem, which lengthens the session without adding value.
- Letting the group discuss the viability of each idea as it arises, instead of noting it down and moving on. This hinders the creative flow.
- Choosing too broad a work object (for example, "the entire customer experience") instead of a specific step or touchpoint.
The ideas generated with SCAMPER are not yet ready for implementation: they are improvement hypotheses. The next natural step is to take them to a convergent thinking exercise to prioritize them, and then build a quick prototype of those with the most potential before investing in developing them.
If you want to delve deeper into idea generation methods for your workshops, subscribe to the FREED YouTube channel.
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