
59Technical Creativity and Idea Generation
Successful process trials, FFU tests, or the construction of a working pro-
totype will prove which ideas are viable. At this point, the concept has not
yet been proven economically feasible or compatible with the company’s
business objectives. Only a program of development and testing will answer
those questions.
Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus was an eighteenth-century expert on
glass and ceramics, who was interested in reproducing the Chinese porcelain
process. Under the patronage of Augustus the Strong in Saxony, considerable
resources were applied to this task. Tschirnhaus recruited a cross-f