Abstract
In a brainstorm, people tend to riff on the first few ideas that come up. Fritz Zwicky's method gives you a structure instead. You break the problem into independent parameters, list options under each one, then pick one option per parameter to make a combination.
The numbers grow fast. Four parameters with five options each already give 625 combinations. Most are useless, but a few will be things nobody would have suggested in the meeting.
Method
- 01
Define the problem
Write what you're trying to make or solve in one sentence.
- 02
Pick the parameters
Find the separate choices any solution has to make. For a product, that might be audience, format, channel and price.
- 03
List options
Under each parameter, write several concrete values. Throw in a couple of odd ones.
- 04
Combine
Take one option from each column to make a solution. Try some on purpose and some at random.
- 05
Shortlist
Keep the combinations that surprise you, describe each one properly, and check it against the goal.
When to use it
- You need lots of different ideas, and tweaking one idea won't get you there.
- A design has several separate choices that can be mixed freely.
- Your team keeps landing on the same familiar answer.
Common pitfalls
- Parameters that overlap, so the combinations repeat each other.
- Only listing safe options. The odd entries are what make interesting combinations.
- Trying to evaluate every combination. Sample a few dozen and follow the ones that spark something.
Origin and references
Attributed to Fritz Zwicky (1940s).
- Zwicky, F. (1969). Discovery, Invention, Research through the Morphological Approach. Macmillan.
- Ritchey, T. (2011). Wicked Problems, Social Messes: Decision Support Modelling with Morphological Analysis. Springer.