Stage 1: Find and Formulate the Problem
First three stages are predominantly conscious and directed
🎯 Telenor Business Challenge
Context: Telenor has noticed a significant drop in customer retention among the 25-35 age demographic over the past 18 months.
Data Points:
- 15% decrease in customer loyalty scores
- Competitors offering more flexible, digital-first services
- Target demographic increasingly values sustainability and transparency
- Current service packages feel "outdated" according to focus groups
Stage 2: Acquire Knowledge
Research and learn about the domain
📊 Market Research
Click to explore market trends and competitor analysis
- Competitor Analysis: Telia offers "Flex Plans" with no binding, Ice.net focuses on sustainability messaging
- Market Trends: 67% of millennials prefer month-to-month contracts over long-term commitments
- Digital Adoption: 89% manage their telecom services exclusively through mobile apps
- Value Drivers: Price is 4th priority after reliability, transparency, and eco-friendliness
🎤 Customer Interviews
Click to review customer feedback
"I don't even know what I'm paying for anymore. The app is confusing and I can't customize my plan." - Maria, 28
"I switched to Ice because they plant trees for every subscription. Telenor feels corporate and cold." - Jonas, 31
"I want to bundle my phone with streaming, fitness apps, maybe insurance. Why do I need 5 different subscriptions?" - Aisha, 26
🔬 Technology Trends
Click to see emerging technologies
- AI Personalization: Apps that learn user behavior and auto-adjust plans
- Gamification: Reward systems for usage behaviors (e.g., off-peak data usage)
- Sustainability Tracking: Carbon footprint calculators integrated into services
- Micro-subscriptions: Pay-per-use models for occasional services
💡 Industry Best Practices
Click to learn from other sectors
- Spotify Model: Freemium with personalized recommendations
- Netflix Approach: No ads, transparent pricing, family sharing
- Banking Apps: Real-time spending insights and budgeting tools
- Fitness Apps: Community features and achievement tracking
Take Notes (What insights are most relevant?):
Stage 3: Gather a Broad Range of Information
Collect diverse perspectives and potentially related information
Brainstorm Board: Capture Random Ideas & Connections
Stage 4: Incubation
⚡ Subconscious Process - Let your mind work on the problem unconsciously
Why Take a Break?
🛌 Rest Hypothesis
Mental fatigue blocks creativity. Rest restores cognitive resources.
🧹 Selective Forgetting
Stepping away helps you let go of fixations and unproductive approaches.
🎲 Random Recombination
Your subconscious randomly recombines information stored in long-term memory.
🌊 Spreading Activation
Ideas continue to percolate and connect unconsciously in your memory networks.
Take a 5-Minute Break
Step away from your computer. Take a walk, grab coffee, or do a different task.
5:00
Stage 5: Generating Ideas
🎯 Conscious attention to the problem generates multiple results
Welcome back! Notice any new perspectives after your break?
Rapid Idea Generation: You have 3 minutes. Write as many product/service ideas as possible. Don't filter or judge.
3:00
Ideas generated: 0
✨ Post-Incubation Bonus!
Stage 6: Combine Ideas in Unexpected Ways
🔗 Conscious attention - Merge concepts creatively
Your Ideas from Stage 5:
Combination Workshop:
Drag and drop 2-3 ideas together to create hybrid solutions. Think: "What if we combined X with Y?"
Drop ideas here to combine
Your Combined Concepts:
Stage 7: Apply Relevant Criteria and Select Best Idea
⚖️ Evaluate and choose the most promising concept
Evaluation Criteria for Telenor:
Stage 8: Externalize the Idea
📢 Articulate and present your creative solution
Create Your Product Pitch
🎉 Innovation Sprint Complete!
Creative Process Analysis
Stages Completed:
8/8
Ideas Generated:
-
Incubation Time:
-
Final Concept Score:
-
Sawyer's 8 Stages You Completed:
- ✅ Find and formulate the problem
- ✅ Acquire knowledge
- ✅ Gather broad range of information
- ✅ Take time for incubation (subconscious processing)
- ✅ Generate ideas (conscious attention returns)
- ✅ Combine ideas in unexpected ways
- ✅ Select best idea using criteria
- ✅ Externalize the idea
Training Complete: Two Complementary Approaches
Game 1: Decision-Tree Game
Focus: Guilford's Structure of Intellect (SOI) Theory
Trains: Four creativity dimensions (Fluency, Flexibility, Originality, Elaboration)
Format: Quick scenario-based decisions
Game 2: Innovation Sprint (This Game)
Focus: Sawyer's 8-Stage Creative Process
Trains: Complete creative workflow from problem to product
Format: Sequential stages with real business challenges
Together, these games develop both what creativity is (Guilford's SOI dimensions) and how creativity works (process over time).