Swedish Morphological Society. Swedish Morphological Society. Morphological analysis (problem-solving) Morphological Analysis or General Morphological Analysis is a method developed by Fritz Zwicky (1967, 1969) for exploring all the possible solutions to a multi-dimensional, non-quantified complex problem.[1] General Morphology was developed by Fritz Zwicky, the Bulgarian-born, Swiss-national astrophysicist based at the California Institute of Technology. Among others, Zwicky applied Morphological Analysis (MA) to astronomical studies and the development of jet and rocket propulsion systems. As a problem-structuring and problem-solving technique, MA was designed for multi-dimensional, non-quantifiable problems where causal modeling and simulation do not function well, or at all.
Consider a complex, real-world problem, like those of marketing or making policies for a nation, where there are many governing factors, and most of them cannot be expressed as numerical time series data, as one would like to have for building mathematical models. Ritchey, T. (1998). Morphological Analysis. Creative tools > Morphological Analysis When to use it | How to use it | Example | How it works | See also When to use it Use it when exploring new and different ideas. Use it to help unblock you when you are stuck. Use it to force a different way of thinking. How to use it Define the problem Identify the objective of the creative session, defining the problem in a short and clear statement. Identify attributes and values List the things about the situation that can be varied or changed in some way.
For each of the variables from step 3, list possible values they may have, including those away from the conventional values (you can be creative at this step too). Combing items Find a way of combining items from the lists you have created. Repeatedly combine selections of ideas generated, forcing all items together to build a creative solution. Select ideas to use or develop into practical solutions to your problem. Example How it works See also Decomposition, Forced association, Chunking. Republican Debate: Analyzing the Details. Morphological box. The morphological box is a heuristic, but systematic method to analyse a problem, do inventions or design new products. It was developed by the Swiss astronomer Zwicky and applied to find solutions to astronomical problems. Zwicky apparently was an enthusiastic teacher, who inspired his students, which is demonstrated by following example ( found at the biography of Fritz Zwicky, written by Roland Mueller: ) “At another time Zwicky promised his class a free day if somebody could prove by logic that 10 is an even number.
The next morning stood at the blackboard: Through subtraction The students were allowed to ski on this day.” The simplest morphological box is a table with rows and columns. To work efficiently with such more complicated problems, computers should be used. The same method can be used to categorize all reports. But one cannot buy it. This program is called Edge Diagrammer.