concept-fan

---
name: concept-fan
description: "Expand from purpose to concepts to directions to ideas (de Bono Concept Fan)"
execution: strategy
used-by: lateral-thinking
---

# Concept Fan

Expand thinking from purpose through concepts to directions to ideas using de Bono's Concept Fan technique. Move between levels of abstraction to find new approaches.

## State Ledger

| Resource | Target | Current | % |
|----------|--------|---------|---|
| web-search | 20 | 0 | 0% |
| web-research | 8 | 0 | 0% |
| paper-overview | 20 | 0 | 0% |
| paper-search | 12 | 0 | 0% |
| paper-research | 5 | 0 | 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 |
|--------|------|
| concept-hierarchy | Build concept levels from purpose through concepts to ideas |

## Available SOPs

| SOP | Role |
|-----|------|
| concept-fan-expansion | Expand fan from purpose → concepts → directions → ideas |
| escape-technique | Escape dominant concept to find alternative concepts |
| fractionation | Split broad concepts into finer units |
| alternatives-generation | Generate alternative ideas at each level |
| lateral-synthesis | Synthesize concept fan outputs |

## Execution Guidance

1. **Define purpose**: Clarify the ultimate purpose (rightmost point of fan)
2. **Identify concepts**: Find broad approaches that serve the purpose
3. **Generate directions**: For each concept, identify specific directions
4. **Produce ideas**: For each direction, generate concrete ideas
5. **Escape and expand**: Use escape-technique if stuck at any level
6. **Synthesize**: Produce structured output via lateral-synthesis