Algorithms for new product development: An exercise in thought dynamics

We generate new product ideas using algorithms which manipulate formally conceptual structures. These structures are abstract closed configurations composed of discrete elements which represent parts or properties of the products and of their immediate environment. The algorithms are assembled of a very limited number of fundamental operations acting on the elements. We present some successful field applications of the method carried out in leading international companies as well as an experiment providing quantitative proof of its superiority over usual ideas search.