«You are given a whisk as an object. Now apply each one of the SCAMPER techniques to it to develop a new product. Give a brief explanation of what the new product is and how it can be marketed.«
For this task we were assigned to work in groups of two, my partner was agoodbanana.com
Substitute: Assuming we were given a standard metal kitchen whisk, we decided to substitute the handle for a larger one. It would be more robust and wider than the standard handle size, somewhere around 1.5 times the thickness, so something still manageable for one hand.
Combine: We liked the idea of combining multiple kitchen tools into one device as most times you need more than one utensil when cooking. If you could reach for only one tool instead of multiple, it would make cleanup easier and cooking more efficient. Think of something along the lines of a Swiss Army knife but purely for the kitchen. We decided to add two knives, a corkscrew, spatula, and a can opener because they are some of the most widely used items in a kitchen.
Adapt: Continuing the idea of a kitchen Swiss Army knife, we decided to better adapt the tool for use outside. Preferably it should be constructed using a material that is robust enough for the elements if you per say wanted to take it camping or on an expedition. We thought about using recycled plastic as this both environmentally friendly, lightweight, and easy to maintain. However, plastic is not an ideal material to use if we want to incorporate any sharp parts. A better choice would be steel or titanium, both materials that are widely used in the sporting industry and hold up well in harsh conditions. Choosing one would depend on whether we were marketing towards an avid adventurer who is concerned with pack weight, or someone that does not. Titanium would be better for someone that is more concerned with overall weight distribution but is less suited for a robust knife.
Modify: The main modification to the product would be streamlining it as much as possible, meaning all the tools would need to fold up into the handle. Firstly, we would need to make all the tools collapsible, which would require some ingenuity. Folding the knives, the corkscrew, and the can opener would be straight forward. The challenge lies within the whisk and spatula themselves. Using a series of henges at specific points on the spatula and on the whisk, the protruding parts could be folded together, creating a straighter unit. Then they could be folded up into the handle. The size of the whisk, spatula, and handle would be the deciding factors for the overall size of the product. It would need to be small enough the fit nicely in a backpack, but also big enough to be sturdy and comfortable to use.
Put to other uses: What is one other thing you need if you are going to cook outdoors, besides utensils and a heat source? Something to light the fire or burner with. Therefore, it would be very useful to also incorporate some sort of lighter on to the product. Because we want this to work in all sorts of conditions it is important to use something that you don’t need to fill (like a butane lighter) or can’t get wet (like matches). We chose to incorporate two small keys that slide into the top of the handle, with a string going through them. One key would be a piece of flint stone and the other a striker, thus making it possible to start a fire under most conditions.
Eliminate: Having a tool such as this eliminates the need for several tools at once. One can simply pick it up and bring it along on your journey or even use it in your home. It is meant to make your cooking experience easier, not more complicated. Be it in the woods, on a mountain or in the safety of your own home. But have we chosen the right utensils to have on the tool? If something needs to be eliminated from the final design, it will depend greatly on testing the products ability to fold together. Whilst we have an idea of what we want to incorporate, it might not be feasible to have them all in one tool. Making some prototypes would help us solve this puzzle and decide if anything must be eliminated.
Rearrange: The single most important thing on this tool is how to arrange the separate parts. The placement needs to be cohesive enough that it can be made as compact as possible. This would require a few prototypes where we could play around with the different elements and see how they best fit together. The arrangement is crucial for the usability of the product. For this excessive we have decided to place them in a way we think they would best fit, with them slotting in on different sides of the handle.
AHV design 