Put to other uses

Ask: who else could use this, and what problems could it solve if applied somewhere entirely different?

Why it works

Functional fixedness — seeing an object or system only in terms of its intended purpose — is a documented barrier to creative problem-solving. The "put to other uses" prompt directly attacks functional fixedness by asking the thinker to view the existing thing as a raw material or tool whose identity is not fixed by its current application.

How to do it

1. List the properties and capabilities of your product or solution (not its current use).
2. Ask: "Who has a problem that these properties could solve?" Look in unexpected customer segments.
3. Ask: "What is a situation where this would be the ideal tool even if it was never designed for it?"
4. The goal is repositioning — finding the right context, not redesigning the thing.

Evidence

Functional fixedness is one of the most replicated phenomena in creative problem-solving research. The "put to other uses" prompt is a direct intervention against it — forcing consideration of non-canonical applications. (observational)

The classic functional fixedness research uses specific laboratory tasks; generalization to complex real-world innovation problems is plausible but not directly tested.

Sources

• Duncker (1945), On Problem-Solving, Psychological Monographs — original functional fixedness research

Common mistake

Only imagining other uses within the same industry or customer category — which keeps functional fixedness intact because the same use-assumptions apply.