excursion-method

Research

Full 8-stage Gordon-Prince excursion process. Deliberate departure from the problem into unrelated domains, then force-fit discoveries back.

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Excursion Method

Full 8-stage Gordon-Prince excursion process — deliberate departure from the problem into unrelated domains, then force-fit discoveries back to generate breakthrough solutions.

State Ledger

Resource	Target	%
web-search	30	0%
web-research	10	0%
paper-overview	25	0%
paper-search	15	0%
paper-research	8	0%

HARD-GATE

Cannot exit strategy until ≥80% of each budget line is consumed OR yield targets are met with justification for remaining budget.

Available Tactics

Tactic	Role
excursion-orchestration	Orchestrate departure → force-fit → springboard
compressed-conflict	Generate compressed conflicts during excursion
analogy-extraction	Extract analogies from excursion domain

Available SOPs

SOP	Role
excursion-departure	Leave problem, explore unrelated domain
direct-analogy-generation	Find analogies in excursion domain
personal-identification	Embody elements in excursion domain
symbolic-compression	Compress excursion findings into oxymorons
force-fit	Force-fit discoveries back to problem
springboard-launch	Convert force-fitted ideas into solutions
synectics-synthesis	Synthesize full excursion report

Execution Guidance

Problem statement: Briefly state the problem (PAG — Problem As Given)
Purge: Get obvious solutions out of the way
PAU: Restate Problem As Understood — the essential challenge
Excursion trigger: Choose an unrelated domain (nature, art, sport, etc.)
Explore: Deep-dive into the excursion domain, noting interesting mechanisms
Force-fit: Deliberately connect excursion discoveries to the problem
Springboard: "I wish..." or "How to..." statements from force-fit
Develop: Build springboards into concrete solution concepts

Available Tactics

Optional, no fixed order; the final leaf is always a sop.

Tactic	When to use
compressed-conflict	Generate compressed conflicts (oxymorons) from problem contradictions and extract concrete idea directions from the symbolic tension.
excursion-orchestration	Orchestrate the excursion sequence — departure into unrelated domain, force-fit discoveries back to problem, launch springboard ideas.

Available SOPs

Optional, no fixed order; the final leaf is always a sop.

SOP	When to use
direct-analogy-generation	Find direct analogies from nature/tech/society that share structural properties with the problem. Produces analogy list with structural mappings.
excursion-departure	Leave the problem entirely and explore an unrelated domain. Produces excursion domain discoveries for later force-fitting.
force-fit	Force-fit excursion discoveries back to the original problem. Deliberately create connections between unrelated findings and the challenge.
personal-identification	First-person empathic identification with a system or component. Produces experience description and design insights from embodiment.
springboard-launch	Convert analogy insights into concrete feasible solutions. Transform abstract connections into actionable mechanisms.
symbolic-compression	Compress problem contradiction into 2-3 word oxymoron. Produces oxymorons with interpretation directions for each.
synectics-synthesis	Synthesize all synectics outputs into a structured idea report. Combines results from all analogy types and excursion processes.