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Simple & Pragmatic Problem Solving
#51Chapter 5: Individual Creative Option Generation• Individual Creative Optionscreative Thinkingindividual and group Mode30-60 min(Average)

Personal Analogies

From the book "Advanced Problem-Solving Toolbox: 115 Creative Plays" | Compiled & Edited by: Mojtaba Goudarzi, Open translation: Mehrshid Goudarzi
Executive Synopsis & Core Logic:

physical and psychological identification with the object or process under investigation and experiencing the problem from within (key pillar of William Gordon's Synetics Method).

Operational Parameters & Specifications

Category
Individual Creative Options
Dominant Thinking
creative
Participation
individual and group
Estimated TimeAverage
30-60 min
Medium
Input Format
feelings, bodily perceptions and experiential identification with the problem or object
Output Format
idea generation
Key Application
Ergonomic design, re-engineering of consumable industrial parts, improvement of physical user experience and elimination of mechanical frictions.
Core Differentiator:

Empathic introspection assuming "I am the object or problem" rather than looking outside and observing impartially.

Quick Field Example:

By transforming himself into an office chair, the designer senses and corrects the stress on the support, the heat caused by long sitting and the fatigue caused by tight settings.

Operational Benefits & Implementation Risks

Advantages & Value Creation:

Uncovering hidden and deep process needs, dramatically increasing ergonomics and durability of products, creating extraordinary empathic understanding in the design team.

Risks & Potential Trade-offs:

may seem unusual, fancy, or daunting to some technical team members at first.

Real-World Organizational & Industry Scenarios

Designing office equipment and furniture: understanding the pressure, erosion and shape change of components by being in the role of the part under pressure.
Production line engineering and mechanics: visualization of fluid flow in pipes assuming the engineer is a particle of fluid under pressure.
Software and data packet design: Suppose you are a packet of data that faces delays and bottlenecks among servers.

Strategic Rationale & Why to Apply

1Breaking the distance between the observer and the phenomenon: when you feel yourself inside the system, the inherent weaknesses become apparent.
2Deep empathy with function: physical parts get fatigued under the load of forces, and this fatigue can only be felt with the inner sense.
3Production of human-centered ideas: combining the human biological sense with the mechanics of objects leads to the design of the most ergonomic products.
4Speed ​​in troubleshooting: quickly identify where the structure is bearing the most pain and pressure.

Conceptual Framework & Book Method Description

"Personal Analogies" technique is one of the four fundamental pillars of the Synectics innovation method invented by William Gordon.

In this technique, the designer person or team literally "takes the role of the desired object, mechanical part or phenomenon". For example, instead of asking, “How do we upgrade the oil pump?”, the designer closes his eyes and says, “I'm the oil pump; Every day, the intense heat and particles of metal pleats rub against my walls, my path is narrow and I can't breathe!" This state of mind transformation produces unique sensory insights about wear, heat, ergonomics, and flexibility that are absent from pure mathematical calculations.

Step-by-Step Real-World Implementation Scenario

Redesigning an ergonomic office chair by placing it in a tired chair body
1
Step 1: Accepting the identity of the object (turning into a chair)Individually and as a team, the designers assumed the identity of the chair: "I am a chair in the accounting room of a company".
2
Step 2: Expressing emotions, tensions and physical reactionsRecording: "For hours, the pressure of uneven weight is heavy on me", "My body does not get air and the trapped heat burns my back", "When the user hunches, my legs lose their balance".
3
Step 3: Extracting the internal needs of the objectNeeds: 1) constant breathing and ventilation 2) automatic adaptation to the curvature of the spine without the need for rigid levers 3) permeable fabric that does not absorb pus and sweat.
4
Step 4: Translating sensory needs to engineering featuresdesign of breathable mesh support, installation of self-adjusting synchro spring suspension mechanism and anti-wear hydrophobic nano coating.
5
Step 5: Ergonomics Evaluation and Market TestingThe new chair scored the highest spine comfort score in the ergonomics lab, and corporate demand for it grew by 50% within 2 months.

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