At various points in this book we have provided configurations of products to exemplify how well defined they are and how they can be used for creativity tasks in a relatively straightforward manner. In this chapter the inference and development of the Templates is presented as part of a formal presentation that can also assist in generalizing and applying them in a variety of other contexts.

Before describing the Creativity Templates themselves, let us revisit and elaborate the procedure for constructing the configuration of products. Several background definitions and rules of operation are required at the outset.

Space

Space is the field of operation. Templates operate in two spaces:

1. The component space consists of static objects – the fundamental component parts that make up the product as a whole, or the fixed external elements that have a direct impact on the product.

2. The attribute space consists of variables of the product or its components that can be changed.

Recall the chair example, the legs and seat of the chair would be components; the color and height of the chair would be attributes.

Note that the Creativity Templates approach considers only those attributes that consist of factual information. Abstractions or inferences, such as esthetics [see definitions in 1], are considered only at the later, development stage.

Characteristics

The characteristics of a product are its components and attributes.