Catena mapping

Catena mapping is an idea generation technique that can be used at the initial stage of work to create a large number of ideas, especially in cases where the sphere to which the problem to be solved seems incomprehensible or, conversely, too trivial. Catena mapping helps broaden thinking space, overcome creative blocks, and transform the incentives found in the process into ideas.

At the heart of catena-mapping is catena - a game that consists in linking two words, initial and final, by a chain of intermediate words chosen according to certain rules. In Catena Mapping, this game is used to find incentives to help expand the field of possible solutions.

Instruction

1. Clearly formulate the task and write it down.
2. Highlight 2-4 keywords in the problem statement.
3. Connect the keywords in pairs and build several catenas with each pair.
4. Choose one word from each catena and use it as an incentive to find ideas. Record your ideas immediately. (See random stimulus method.)
5. After the break, select the best ideas for further refinement.

Some tips

• For more convenience, you can first determine the patterns of the selected words - then the game will go easier (see example below). It is convenient to use for this mental maps.
• If you have a difficult task and only two keywords, you can add one or two more random words to make the results richer. For example, you can use the words “train station” (this word has many links by pattern) and “sun” (many links by analogy).
• Very often the second candidate in the chain is the best candidate for an incentive - there may be a definite connection with both the original and the final words, but the relationship is implicit, not interfering with the emergence of fresh ideas.
• Relationships are not always bilateral, so you can get additional results by swapping words in the original pair of catenas.
• The quality of the resulting catens and the strictness of observance of the rules do not play a special role in Catena mapping, since the game here has a purely practical value.

Although the obvious result of catena-mapping is the found ideas, it is just as important that the game helps to master the area to which the task belongs without much effort, even if you had no relation to it before. Thanks to this, from an unfamiliar and alien, or vice versa too familiar and boring task turns into a lively and interesting.

Example

Catena map linking the words "Program", "Interest" and "Development".