INNOVATION

Weeks to result

Concept Extraction

Extract concepts from ideas

Idea Generation Concept Development Problem Solving

Problem it solves

stagnant innovation

Best for

Individuals and teams looking to generate new ideas and concepts

Not ideal for

Those looking for a quick fix or a straightforward analysis

Overview

Why this framework exists

Concept extraction is a framework for extracting concepts from ideas. It involves identifying the underlying concepts behind specific ideas and using these concepts to generate new ideas and perspectives.

Core principles

3 total

Concepts are steppingstones to ideas and vice versa
Identifying underlying concepts can generate new ideas and perspectives
Concepts can be used to facilitate idea generation and concept development

Steps

3 steps

Identify Specific Ideas
Start by identifying specific ideas related to the problem or topic at hand. These ideas should be concrete and tangible.
Pro tipUse a brainstorming session to generate the list
WarningAvoid getting too caught up in the details
Extract Underlying Concepts
Take the specific ideas and extract the underlying concepts. This can be done by identifying relationships between the ideas and using these relationships to generate new concepts.
Pro tipUse mind mapping or clustering to identify relationships between ideas
WarningBe careful not to get too caught up in the details
Generate New Ideas
Use the extracted concepts to generate new ideas. This can be done by asking questions like 'What if?' or 'How might we?'
Pro tipUse the concepts as steppingstones to ideas
WarningAvoid self-censoring or judging ideas too quickly

Checklist

Saved in your browser

Have you identified specific ideas?
Have you extracted underlying concepts?
Have you generated new ideas?

Examples

2 cases

Extracting Concepts from Product Ideas

Using concept extraction to extract concepts from product ideas

OutcomeGenerated a list of new concepts for product development

Generating New Ideas for a Social Issue

Using concept extraction to generate new ideas for a social issue

OutcomeGenerated a list of new ideas for addressing the issue

Common mistakes

3 traps

Not Identifying Specific Ideas

Failing to identify specific ideas can limit the effectiveness of concept extraction

Not Extracting Underlying Concepts

Failing to extract underlying concepts can limit the generation of new ideas

Not Generating New Ideas

Failing to generate new ideas can limit the effectiveness of concept extraction

Origin story

How this framework came to be

Concept extraction was developed as a way to facilitate idea generation and concept development. It is based on the idea that concepts are steppingstones to ideas and vice versa.

Source

Traced to primary

Source · BOOK

Flowscapes

Edward de Bono · 2020

Open source →

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