Combine
Ask: what two things — purposes, materials, functions, or ideas — could be merged to create something new?
Key takeaways
- What it is: Ask: what two things — purposes, materials, functions, or ideas — could be merged to create something new?
- Why it works: Many breakthrough innovations are combinations of existing elements that were previously separate. The Combine prompt systematically searches for merger opportunities across functions, domains, or time periods. This exploits the fact that remote associations — connecting ideas from distant domains — are a characteristic of highly creative thinking, while unconstrained brainstorming tends to stay within familiar territory.
- Evidence: Backed by observational / correlational evidence.
- Avoid: Combining only within the same category ("what if we merged two existing features?") rather than across distant ones — the most interesting combinations usually come from pairing things that don’t obviously belong together.
Why it works
Many breakthrough innovations are combinations of existing elements that were previously separate. The Combine prompt systematically searches for merger opportunities across functions, domains, or time periods. This exploits the fact that remote associations — connecting ideas from distant domains — are a characteristic of highly creative thinking, while unconstrained brainstorming tends to stay within familiar territory.
How to do it
- 1List the functions or purposes your thing serves.
- 2Ask: "What other things serve similar functions in different domains? What if they were one thing?"
- 3Also ask: "What could this be combined with to serve a new additional function?"
- 4Look across categories — combining a physical product with a service, a process with a metaphor.
What the evidence says
ObservationalResearch on analogical reasoning and conceptual combination finds that cross-domain idea combination produces more novel and valued ideas than within-domain variation. SCAMPER’s Combine prompt structurally encourages this.
Honest caveat: Not all combinations are productive; the Combine lens generates quantity of combinations, and separate evaluation is needed to identify the valuable ones.
- — Ward (1994), Structured Imagination — typicality of examples and creative generation, Cognitive Psychology
Common mistake
Combining only within the same category ("what if we merged two existing features?") rather than across distant ones — the most interesting combinations usually come from pairing things that don’t obviously belong together.
IX Coach suggests cross-domain combination candidates based on your problem description, drawing from adjacent fields to expand the combination space beyond your habitual frame.
Practice this with IX Coach →