[Abstract]

Processing Combinatorial Thinking: Innovators Marketplace as Role-based Game plus Action Planning

Teruaki Hayashi and Yukio Ohsawa
Department of Systems Innovation, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Japan



It is difficult to invent the new innovative ideas, i.e., of potential impact to the human society. There are many products and services in the world, but epoch-making products or services are rarely created. Innovators Market Game is a method for creating new ideas by combining existent ideas. Players participate in the game and think of the new ideas. In this study, players take part in the game acting the roles. These roles are selected from the real world, for example engineers, police officers, transportation authority, government and so on. We name this way of the game Role-based Innovators Market Game. The strict rules, acting roles and communication make players more creative and imaginative. This study proposes not only the way of creating new ideas, but also the process of making them practical, by including the step for Action Planning. By using this method, players can cultivate these ideas. These two methods formed the refined process of Innovators Marketplace?, help in contriving innovative ideas for the human society in discovering and solving practical problems.