Attribute listing is one of the best ways to generate ideas, whereby there any many parts to the problem/ challenge faced. If you are asked to generate ideas or solutions to a complex challenge, the first thing you can do is to list all the attributes of your problem.

These may include:

• Physical

• Mental

• Emotional

• Social

• and more (depending on the complexity of the challenge)

By doing so, you can then concentrate on each attribute at a time. This will no doubt give you more peace of mind (and pulling of your hairs) when generating your ideas.

The attribute listing technique is often used in a Research & Development (R&D) department of many companies, especially those who are constantly producing innovative products to have an advantage over their competitors.

Let¡¯s go through this worked example to give you a better understanding of how attributes listing can be of help to you.

For example, if your challenge is to design a new ladies¡¯ handbag, you could list the attributes as: the physical aspects which include- shape, length, colour, materials used and on the emotional aspects-the stress some women faced of misplacing their handbags. You might choose to first tackle the emotional stress of losing one¡¯s handbag by creating a new small gadget to be placed within the handbag to sound the owner that she is moving too far away (maybe one or two metre away) from her ¡®treasure chest¡¯. After that, you could work on the other attributes, one by one, be it the shape or materials used for the handbag.

Putting Your Elements to Work:

Try to generate oodles of ideas using attributes listing with these sets of challenges:

1. Design a new toy for children under 6 years old to teach them simple arithmetic. Safety is an important attribute.

2. Create a campaign to encourage people to stop smoking. (Think through the attributes: Physical, Mental, Emotional and Social)

3. Set up an effective marketing plan (there are many parts to a good marketing plan: the 4 P¡¯s ¨C Product, Price, Place and Promotion) for your new products.

Have Fun!

About The Author

Dr. Alvin Chan is a Senior Research Consultant at First Quatermain Centre of Collaborative Innovation (www.firstquatermain.com).

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