Nunamaker,Creativity Support Tools

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Creativity Support Creativity Support ToolsTools

Jay F. Nunamaker, Jr.Regents’ and Soldwedel Professor of MIS, Computer Science & Communication

The University of Arizona, Tucson

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What is creativity?What is creativity? “Creativity is best described as the human capacity regularly to

solveproblems or to fashion products in a domain, in a way that isinitially novel but ultimately acceptable in a culture.” (Gardner,1989)

“Creative products, be they poems, scientific theories, paintings ortechnological advances, are both novel and acknowledged to bevaluable or useful in some way.” (Gilhooly, 1982)

“Creativity is a process that can be observed only at the intersectionwhere individuals, domains and fields intersect.”(Csikszentmihalyi, 1999)

Creativity is defined as process of forming mental elements into new combinations, which either meet specified requirements or are useful (Mednick, 1962)

A combination of flexibility, originality, and sensitivity to ideas that enables the learner to break away from usual sequences of thought into different and productive sequence (Jones, 1972)

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CreativityCreativity

Ref: Edmonds and Candy, 2003

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About the Nature of CreativityAbout the Nature of Creativity

According to Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, “Creativity is the cultural equivalent of the process of genetic changes that result in biological evolution, where random variations take place in the chemistry of our chromosomes, below the threshold of consciousness. These changes result in the sudden appearance of a new physical characteristic in a child, and if the trait is an improvement over what existed before, it will have a greater chance to be transmitted to the child´s descendants. Most new traits may disappear after a few generations, but a few do improve survival chances, and it is these that account for biological evolution. In cultural evolution there are no mechanisms equivalent to genes and chromosomes.”

Can we artificially simulate this process? Can we create tools to support the creativity process?

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Can Creativity Be Enhanced?Can Creativity Be Enhanced?

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Creativity Support Tools: FocusCreativity Support Tools: Focus

Desire to increase performance in decision-making and problem-solving

Need to deal effectively with semi-structured and ill-structured problems

Creativity is vital to improved decision-making by groups or individuals

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Communities of Creativity Authors:Communities of Creativity Authors: InspirationalistsInspirationalists Emphasize the remarkable “Aha” moment Advocate strategies to break an innovator’s

mindset and have him/her perceive the problem with fresh eyes

Promote stimuli to elicit new ideas Brainstorming, divergence Free association – textual/graphic prompts

Reference: Leonardo’s Laptop by Ben Shneiderman

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Communities of Creativity Authors:Communities of Creativity Authors: StructuralistsStructuralists Emphasize the more orderly approaches Stress the importance of studying previous work

and using methodical techniques to explore and evaluate the possible solutions exhaustively e.g. How to solve it – George Polya (1957)

Software tool support in the form of Programmable simulations (test what-if processes) Scientific, engineering, mathematical models Methodical visualizations (charts, decision trees)

Reference: Leonardo’s Laptop by Ben Shneiderman

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Communities of Creativity Authors:Communities of Creativity Authors: SituationalistsSituationalists Emphasize intellectual, social, emotional

contexts as key parts of the creative process See creativity as embedded in a community of

practice with changing standards Want to know more about the role of collaboration

with peers, advice from mentors, etc.

Software tool support in the form of Consultation with peers and mentors Dissemination of results to interested members of the

fieldReference: Leonardo’s Laptop by Ben Shneiderman

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Possible Approaches to Enhance Possible Approaches to Enhance CreativityCreativity Remove blocks

By understanding the unconscious influence of background, experience and habit on creativity

By analyzing problems By learning new skills (triggers), By practicing methods to release imagination

(triggers), By avoiding premature judgment of ideas (anonymity)

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Models of CreativityModels of Creativity

Stage modelsDescriptive

Largely mechanistic (Polya, 1957; Whiting 1958) 3 stages – intelligence, design & choice (Simon,

1960) Clarified the nature of endeavor No causal explanation why certain processed

enhanced creativity No guidelines for creative activities

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Stage modelsPrescriptive

Aimed to enhance performance by formalizing protocols that insured repeatable results

(Couger, 1995; Marakas, 1997; Rickards, 1974; van Gundy, 1987)

Do not provide a causal explanation Hint at an underlying cause-and-effect mechanism

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Cognitive psychology models Suggests insights into the mental processes that

may underlie creative thinking Creativity is defined as process of forming mental

elements into new combinations, which either meet specified requirements or are useful (Mednick, 1962)

The more mutually remote the elements of the new combination are, the more creative the resulting solution

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Models of CreativityModels of Creativity Recently proposed cognitive psychology

modelCognitive Network Model (Santanen et al, 2002)

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Cognitive Network Model (CNM) of Cognitive Network Model (CNM) of CreativityCreativity Creative ideas emerge from novel juxtapositions

in working memory of concepts that had not previously been considered at the same time

The bigger the variety of ideas you can get people to think about in the context of their problem in a given amount of time, the more likely they are to have a creative idea

The benefit of increased variety of concepts is offset by the cognitive cost of switching ideas

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Role of ThinkLets in Measuring Role of ThinkLets in Measuring CreativityCreativity Used thinkLets as facilitation support to

manipulate the cognitive model (Santanen, 2004) A thinkLet constitutes the smallest unit of

intellectual capital required to create one repeatable pattern of collaboration among people working toward a goal (Briggs et al, 2003) Divergence thinkLets useful for doing creativity

experiments

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Experimental Results with CNM: Experimental Results with CNM: Effect of StimuliEffect of Stimuli Free brainstorming lead to widest coverage of the solution

space, though creativity much lower than directed brainstorming With directed brainstorming with topic switches every 2 minutes,

creativity was greatest in the second half of the 40 minute session

With directed brainstorming with topic switches every 8 minutes, creativity was greatest in the first half of the 40 minute session

Topic switches every 4 minutes lead to the greatest amount of redundant solutions and "group think" across the solutions offered. Also poorer creative performance than free brainstorming

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How to develop creativity triggers How to develop creativity triggers and prompts?and prompts? The development of the specific directed brainstorming prompts

follows Couger’s (1995) guidelines for developing prompts for aiding creative problem solving

According to Couger, good problem solving statements contain four major elements: An invitational stem, (for example, “In what ways might…”) an ownership component, (for example, “we…”) an action component, and (for example, “reduce…”) a goal component. (for example, “the number of casualties.”)

These four elements provide a method for insuring uniform structure and content for the prompts that are delivered to the group as they generate solutions to the problem task

(Reference: Couger, J. D. (1995). Creative Problem Solving and Opportunity Finding. Boyd & Fraser Publishing Company, Danvers, MA.)

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““Creative” Problem Solving Approaches: Creative” Problem Solving Approaches: Herb Simon’s 3-stage ApproachHerb Simon’s 3-stage Approach

1. Intelligence – Recognizing the problem and analyzing problem information to develop a useful problem definition

2. Design – Generation of solutions

3. Choice – Selection and implementation of a solution

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Mapping Alternative Approaches to Mapping Alternative Approaches to Simon’s FrameworkSimon’s Framework Von Fange (G.E. Creative Engineering Program)

1. Investigate direction (Intelligence)2. Establish measures (Intelligence)3. Develop methods (Design)4. Optimize a structure (Design)5. Accomplish this structure (Choice)6. Convince others (Choice)

Gregory (The Scientific Problem Solving Method)1. Deciding on the objective (Intelligence)2. Analyzing problems (Intelligence)3. Gathering data (Intelligence)4. Organizing data (Intelligence)5. Inducting (Design)6. Planning (Design)

7. Prechecking (Choice)8. Activating plans (Choice)9. Evaluating (Choice)

Ref: McPherson, J.H. “The People, The Problems, and the Problem-Solving Methods,” The Journal of Creative Behavior, vol. 2, pp. 103-110.

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Mapping Alternative Approaches to Mapping Alternative Approaches to Simon’s FrameworkSimon’s Framework Bailey (Disciplined Creativity)

1. Problem inquiry (Intelligence)2. Specifying goals (Intelligence)3. Determining means (Intelligence)4. Solution optimization (Design)5. Construction and verification (Choice)6. Convince others (Choice)

Rossman1. Need or difficulty is observed (Intelligence)2. Problem formulated (Intelligence)3. Available information surveyed (Intelligence)4. Solutions formulated (Design)5. Solutions critically examined (Design)6. New ideas formulated (Choice)7. New ideas tested (Choice)

Ref: McPherson, J.H. “The People, The Problems, and the Problem-Solving Methods,” The Journal of Creative Behavior, vol. 2, pp. 103-110.

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Ben Shneiderman’s Creativity Ben Shneiderman’s Creativity FrameworkFramework Collect – learn from

previous work stored in libraries, the Web, and other sources

Relate – Consult with peers and mentors at early, middle, and late stages

Create – Explore, compose, and evaluate possible solutions

Donate – Disseminate the results and contribute to libraries, the Web, and other sources

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Tasks to Support CreativityTasks to Support Creativity

Ref: Shneiderman B., “Creativity Support Tools,” Communication of the ACM, vol.45, no.10, pp. 116-120.

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Shneiderman’s Mapping of Creativity Shneiderman’s Mapping of Creativity Framework & TasksFramework & Tasks

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Creativity Support Tools: Some ResultsCreativity Support Tools: Some Results

Automated brainstorming model facilitates creativity to a larger extent and neutralizes many of the group effects responsible for poor performance of group brainstorming in the past Reference:

Nunamaker, J.F., Jr., Applegate, L.M., Konsynski, B.R., “Facilitating Group Creativity: Experience with a Group Decision Support System,” Journal of Management Information Systems, 3, 4, pp. 5-19, 1987.

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Creativity declined when using the software on an analysis task even though number of alternatives increasedReference:

Durand, D.E., VanHuss, S.E., “Creativity Software and DSS: Cautionary Findings,” Information and Management, 23, pp.1-6, 1992.


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Analogies produce creative, but fewer ideas, due to the use of unrelated stimuli

Assumption reversals produced the most, but less creative ideas, possibly due to fragmentation of group memory and cognitive inertia caused by lack of forced movements among dialogues Reference:

Hender, J.M., Dean, D.L., Rodgers, T.L., Nunamaker, J.F., Jr., “An Examination of the Impact of Stimuli Type and GSS Structure on Creativity: Brainstorming Versus Non-Brainstorming Techniques in a GSS Environment,” Journal of Management of Information, 18, 4, pp. 59-85, 2002.


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Larger groups generate more unique ideas and more high-quality ideasReference:

Gallupe, R.B., Dennis, A.R., Cooper, W.H., Valacich, J.S., Bastianutti, L.N., Nunamaker, J.F., Jr. “Electronic Brainstorming and Group Size,” Academy of Management Journal, 35, 2, pp. 350-369, 1992.


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Research InitiativesResearch Initiatives

The Creativity Center & Lab (since 2003) Brigham Young University Faculty

Dr. Brent Strong Dr. Robert Barrett Dr. Tom Erekson

Focus To nurture creativity in individuals and groups within the BYU

sphere of influence

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Center for Research on Creativity and Innovation (since 1988) University of Colorado at Colorado Springs Founders:

Dr. J. Daniel Couger, Director Dr. Lex Higgins, Associate Director

Focus: To conduct research on ways to improve creativity in

organizations and to publish the results of the research To work in a consulting capacity with organizations that want

to improve the creativity of individuals and teams

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International Center for Studies in Creativity (since 1967) Buffalo State University of New York Faculty

Dr. Gerard Puccio Dr. Mary Murdock Dr. Roger Firestein

Focus To train students, groups, teams and organizations to

become more effective creative thinkers and problem solvers and to instill these skills in others

First school to offer Master of Science in creativity

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Human-Computer Interaction Lab

(since 1983) University of Maryland, College Park Faculty

Dr. Ben Bederson Dr. Ben Shneiderman and more…

Focus To design, implement, and evaluate new interface

technologies that are useable, useful, and appealing to a broad cross-section of people

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Focus of Current Research Focus of Current Research InitiativesInitiatives Analyze the creativity process Develop frameworks and models to

augment the creativity process Use computing tools and techniques to

support the process Develop facilitation techniques to help

execute creative processes

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Commercial Creativity Support ToolsCommercial Creativity Support Tools ACTA Advantage Axon Idea Processor Brainstorm BrainStormer Brainstorming 1.0.1 Brainstorming Toolbox CK Modeller CM/1 ComedyWriter Concept Draw Corkboard/Three by Five CreaPro Creative Whack Pack Creative Studio Decision Explorer Dramatica DynoNotePad Genius Handbook GroupSystems II Grouputer Idea Generator Plus IdeaFisher IDEGEN++ In Control InfoDepot Innovation Toolbox Inspiration Invention Machine MaxThink MicMac Microsoft Word (Outlining Feature) Microsoft Word (Thesaurus Module)

Mind Mapper MindMan MoonLite MORE Paramind Personal Best 3.1 Plot Prompt Plots Unlimited Powerpoint Scriptware Serious Creativity Simplex Sirius StoryBuilder StoryCraft StoryCraftNet for Writers SuperMemo The Creativity Machine The Electric Brain The Electric Mind The Solution Machine Thoughtline Thoughtpath TreePad Turbo Thought Visimap / InfoMap VisionQuest Visual Outliner WinGrid WordPerfect Yeahwrite Ref: Creativity Web

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McClelland 214

McClelland 110

BPA 309

McClelland 430QQ

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GroupSystems ExampleGroupSystems Example

Typical applicationsGather project requirementsAnalyze corporate risksMarketing focus groupStrategic planning

Creativity is key in many such applications

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GroupSystems ApproachGroupSystems Approach

Ref: GroupSystems.com

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GroupSystems ApproachGroupSystems Approach Ref: GroupSystems.com

1. Set your agenda 2. Brainstorm for new ideas 3. Organize the input

4. Gather detailed input 5. Broaden their perspective 5. Weigh alternatives

6. Get instant results 7. Manage the process 8. Generate reports

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GroupSystems: Generate IdeasGroupSystems: Generate Ideas


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GroupSystems: Organize IdeasGroupSystems: Organize Ideas


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GroupSystems: Evaluate IdeasGroupSystems: Evaluate Ideas


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Reflection on Existing ToolsReflection on Existing Tools

Narrow and function specific Does not position the tool in the overall

process or problem-solving approach Too generic in most cases Domain specific elements not embedded Lack sufficient integration with existing

tools

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Need for Developing Novel Need for Developing Novel Creativity Support ToolsCreativity Support Tools Different domains have different forms of

creativity: e.g. music, art, design, etc. Need to move from generic tools to

domain-specific tools Allow integration with other existing tools Need to embed creativity support tools

within other process management tools

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Criteria for Creativity Support ToolsCriteria for Creativity Support Tools

The criteria determined by Davis (1986) include: Will it work? Will it do the job? Does it improve current methods? Is it timely? Does it reduce costs? Eliminate unnecessary work? Increase productivity? Improve quality? Is it too complicated? Simple and direct? It is suitable? Will others accept it? Are the necessary materials/resources available?

(Reference: Davis, G.A. (1986). Creativity is Forever. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co., Dubuque, IA.)

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Challenge in developing creativity Challenge in developing creativity support toolssupport tools Developing novel ideas of supporting

creativity Ways to integrate various forms of creative

creations in existing tools Need to develop compatible action

patterns and consistent terminology

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Sea-Based Battle LabSea-Based Battle Lab

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JTF Complex Onboard USS JTF Complex Onboard USS CoronadoCoronado

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Situat

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Room

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MILITARY

INTERNATIONALRESCUE COMMITTEE

OTHER RELIEF &BENEFIT ORGANIZATIONS

INTERACTION CARE

DOCTORSWITHOUTBORDERS

SAVE THE CHILDREN

WORLD FOODPROGRAMME

DEPT OFPEACEKEEPING

OPERATIONS

UN HIGHCOMMISSIONERFOR REFUGEES

UNICEF

OFDA / DART

COUNTRYTEAM

CMOCCMOCUNUN

NGOs&

PVOs

NGOs&

PVOs

U.S.GOVAGENCIES

U.S.GOVAGENCIES

ICRCICRC

AMERICANRED CROSS

Civil – Military Operations CenterCivil – Military Operations Center

JP 3-57, IV-18

IFRC

Courtesy of LT Randy MyrickUSCINCPAC

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Joint Planning CenterJoint Operations Center (JOC)

Saran wrap needed due to dust

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Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief (HA/DR) ExerciseRelief (HA/DR) Exercise Within the context of Rim Pac 2000 Collaborative applications between

the CMOC, the JLC, the CAT cell, and the JMC on-board the USS Coronado

a deployable CMOC ashore several UN agencies and non-governmental organizations

(NGOs) ashore at the refugee camp logistics supply points ashore and in other countries multiple administrative sites

Necessitated creative solutions in a timely manner

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Boeing ExperienceBoeing Experience

Design-build team and the 777 Situation at Boeing

Thousands of engineersGeography dispersedHeterogeneous environment

Challenging situation for developing creative solutions collaboratively

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Creativity at P&GCreativity at P&G

Creative solutions for New Product Design (NPD)

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Facilitation for Collaborative Facilitation for Collaborative Creativity ProcessesCreativity Processes Emphasis on executing processes with

varied requirements such asLess costlyLess riskyFasterAnonymous responses

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To Enhance CreativityTo Enhance Creativity

Increase the diversity of the participants Provide anonymity Provide creativity triggers Illustrate tangible products through

prototype simulation (e.g. Heineken brewery shop floor)

storyboards mock-ups graphical presentations

Technology

Nunamaker,Creativity Support Tools