Mapping research: toward a product-based framework for Templates definition

We initially identified Creativity Templates through a backward analysis of product innovations, a process we call mapping research. We traced the history of a product through its former versions. By portraying the configuration of each product version and, subsequently, examining the stepwise changes between versions, we were able to observe common patterns of change that we later classified into the Creativity Templates. In other words, we tried to discover “laws of product evolution” through the observation of changes in successful product configurations over time. The application of these “laws” to an existing product and predicting a new product thereof is the basis of the Creativity Template approach.

In order to map the configurations of the products, we drew only on their internal dynamics. Our maps consist of product characteristics and reciprocal influences of characteristics. The taxonomy of templates is partially based on and is consistent with the works of Altschuller [3,4], Maimon and Horowitz [5]. The taxonomy and details of doing this are explained below.

As an illustration we present here one of the first mapping research examinations that was performed on soap-related products.