How PMs can achieve PMF better and faster with the SCAMPER Technique

A couple of days ago, during a team session at the office, one of our engineers mentioned the SCAMPER technique for creative problem-solving, which piqued my attention. So, of course, I went down that rabbit hole.

You know how you’re faced with a product problem. somewhere along the development pipeline, you realize that you’ve still not figured out exactly where your product fits in the market especially if you’re building something with plenty of competition.

You’ve aggregated your data, you’ve done your competitor research, you’ve spoken to customers and while it seems like you might have a fair chance in one or two niches, you still realize that the problems you’re trying to solve are still being solved regardless, and you need that little something stand you out.
It may not even be a problem as monumental, you could just be trying to figure out a way to further improve your user’s experience in a novel way. This is where you earn your medal as a PM, this is where you hunker down and think creatively about the problem.

In comes The SCAMPER technique, a framework for creative problem-solving, it offers a systematic approach to generating ideas and improving existing products.

Understanding SCAMPER

SCAMPER is an acronym that outlines seven questions to stimulate creative thinking:

• Substitute: What could you replace or substitute in the product or process?

  Think about replacing components or features with alternatives that offer better performance, cost-effectiveness, or user experience. For instance, As a product manager for a software company trying to generate recurring revenue, you could explore switching from a one-time purchase model to a subscription-based model which also allows you to provide ongoing updates and support.

• Combine: What could you combine or merge with the product or process?
  Sometimes an opportunity will present where you can combine several features from existing products to serve a wider range of customers, and by so doing, cut down on how many steps a user needs to take to solve a problem.
  Let’s say you’ve been tasked with creating a project management tool, you might combine features from a task management app, a time-tracking tool, and a collaboration platform to create a comprehensive project management solution.

• Adapt: What could you adapt or modify in the product or process?
  You know how the saying goes, “Adapt or die”. Customer preferences and user trends are notoriously finicky (looking at you AI). Your gig as a PM is to keep up while still solving core problems, that last part is important so you don’t get caught out in the wild building for a trend that everyone has moved on from.

  Other times, adapting means localizing your product to fit into your user’s horizon, for instance, as a PM for an e-commerce platform, you should adapt the user interface to cater to different age groups or cultural preferences. Back when I worked at Janus WW, this was our core focus, helping companies localize their products for their local audience, I promise you, it’s a bigger problem than you think. here’s an article I wrote on the topic of localization from my time there.

• Modify: What could you change or alter in the product or process?
  I’ll be the first to say it, modify and adapt are looking like blood brothers right now, but I think the key difference is, that when you modify, there is a permanence about the alteration, so when you modify your product, it better be because either the data is pointing you in that direction or in the light of new circumstances (looking at you AI again) that are here to stay.
  You can see how most word-processing software these days have modified their spell-checking feature to include more advanced capabilities that are almost solely powered by an AI engine. There’s no coming back from that.

• Put to another use: What could you use the product or process for in a different context?

  A common industry strategy is reimagining a product or process for a different purpose. Case in point, military-grade equipment. Due to their exceptional durability, military supplies are often marketed as "military-grade" versions of consumer products. For example, the HUMMER line of SUVs was directly adapted from military Humvees, known for their ruggedness and durability. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the star of "Terminator," famously requested a civilian version, leading to a surge in customer orders.

• Eliminate: What could you remove or eliminate from the product or process?
  As a product manager, I already assume you’re always looking for ways to eliminate features and functionalities that have no place in your product, especially if you’re a fan of the lean methodology. I mean, who isn’t? Chop Chop!

• Reverse: What could you reverse or do the opposite with the product or process?
  My process with reverse has mostly been to reverse engineer my competitor’s product to identify its key features, technologies, and business model which will in turn help me identify the gaps where my product will slot right now so we can achieve the elusive product market fit.

Conclusion

I never really know how to write conclusions but I’ll say this, this SCAMPER thing is not a rule set in stone for PMs, think of this article as merely a suggestion because the last thing I want to do is burden you with another technique you have to memorize. Lord knows we have a ton of those already.

Until we meet again, may the stars shine on you.