Ideation
Сreative stage of generating ideas. It is a part of the Design Thinking process in which designers generate as many ideas as possible in a judgment-free environment. The main goal of ideation is to filter and cut many ideas into more practical or innovative ones and build them into solutions.
Ideation Methods
We can’t force the ideas into our brains, but we can control the ideation process. Here are the most common and effective ideation techniques to help ourselves.
- Brainstorming — building good solutions from each other’s ideas.
- Worst Possible Idea — the inverted brainstorming. You inspire each other to produce bad ideas and generate valuable solutions. This method frees the flow and makes the process more fun.
- Storyboarding — visual illustration of the situation. It is similar to brainstorming, but it visualizes the information with tools like presentations, agendas, or training programs.
- Sketching — using simple sketches to express ideas. It makes it easier to share, discuss, and promote the best ideas.
- Mind Mapping — using visual diagrams to connect ideas to the problem in the same space.
Tips & Tricks
Choose a facilitator
This role is essential for creating a friendly and productive atmosphere. Anyone from the team can be a facilitator.
Define the problem
It’s crucial to understand why you are generating ideas. You can use different approaches here. For example, start with the user’s perspective and his needs. Stay focused and try to stick to the problem that need to be solved.
Prepare the location
It should be comfortable and might have whiteboards or something like that. You can also change the physical space for your ideation session to something new. The new environment can help to generate unusual ideas.
Set time limits and rules
Decide the duration of a session and the ideas number for each problem.
Choose the ideation technique
There are various ideation techniques to choose from.
Choose the best ideas
Rank the ideas and choose the most functional and realistic.
