Ideation for the problem of component placing

The component placing problem (CPP) is the problem of finding new uses of component, as distinct from final, products. This is an under-addressed and generally unsolved problem. It is especially important for firms that engage heavily in R&D and develop intellectual property. The literature on ideation and on new product development would suggest that nominal group processes could be useful in generating ideas for finding new uses of components. To our knowledge, this suggestion has not been taken up and reported on previously. We conducted three exploratory nominal group sessions, each tasked with finding new uses of Tyvek, a synthetic material produced by DuPont. This paper reports on the results, which were broadly promising.