Skip to main content

Methods for generating Ideas.

The process of ideation in design thinking is about generating a high quantity of ideas, not just a few good ones. This is because quality often emerges from quantity. Several methods can be used to systematically generate creative and novel ideas.

1. Challenging Assumptions

This method involves questioning the fundamental assumptions behind a product, service, or behavior. Many innovations arise from challenging deeply held beliefs that are often taken for granted.

  • Process:
    1. List Assumptions: Write down all the assumptions related to the problem you're trying to solve. For a car, this could include assumptions about the number of wheels, seats, or the need for a spare tire.
    2. Challenge Each Assumption: Question each assumption, no matter how fundamental it seems. For example, the assumption that phones need buttons was challenged by the iPhone. The belief that fans must have blades was challenged by the Dyson Air Multiplier.
    3. Overcome the Assumption: Develop a solution that works without the assumption. For instance, the Mac's design challenged the assumption that a computer needs a fan for cooling, leading to a fanless, quieter machine.

This method requires a "beginner's mind," a fresh perspective that is not bogged down by prior knowledge or established patterns.

2. Brainwriting (Mind Mapping)

Brainwriting is a superior alternative to traditional brainstorming because it mimics the way the human brain thinks: spatially, not linearly. A mind map is a visual representation of ideas, with the main concept at the center and related ideas branching out.

  • Process:
    1. Central Objective: Start with the core problem or objective in the middle of a blank page.
    2. Branching Problems: Branch out from the center to list all the related problems or sub-problems. For example, when trying to improve an electric bike, you would list problems like "range," "charging time," and "safety".
    3. Generate Solutions: For each problem branch, list possible solutions.
    4. Connect the Dots: The spatial nature of the mind map allows you to draw connections between seemingly unrelated ideas, leading to novel combinations and a more holistic solution.

This method is best done with a notebook without ruled pages to encourage spatial thinking and using multiple colors for creative expression.

3. Lateral Thinking and SCAMPER

Lateral thinking, a term coined by Edward de Bono, is a creative problem-solving approach that involves suspending logic to look at a problem from a sideways perspective. The SCAMPER technique is an acronym that provides specific triggers for lateral thinking.

  • S - Substitute: What can be replaced? (e.g., substituting physical food coupons with a mobile app acknowledgement).
  • C - Combine: What can be combined to create a new solution? (e.g., a person's food-taking behavior revealing their food preferences).
  • A - Adapt: How can the existing system be adapted for a specific, temporary situation? (e.g., adapting a campus ground for temporary parking during a conference).
  • M - Modify: How can the existing system be permanently modified for a better outcome? (e.g., modifying campus roads to be one-way, freeing up space for parking).
  • P - Purpose/Repurpose: Can the product or service be used for another purpose? (e.g., a parked car serving as a display for market research).
  • E - Eliminate: What can be removed to improve the system? (e.g., eliminating the need for parking altogether).
  • R - Reverse: How can the process or the incentive structure be reversed? (e.g., reversing the situation so that people have to pay for parking instead of it being free).

4. Ideation Across the Value Chain and Customer Tiers

This method, from the Blue Ocean Strategy, encourages thinking about an entire process or customer journey, identifying points of value creation and improvement. It is a powerful tool for a more granular, systematic approach to ideation.

  • Across the Value Chain: Break down a customer's journey into distinct stages (e.g., getting a food coupon, joining the food queue, eating, disposing of the tray) and brainstorm ways to improve objectives like convenience, efficiency, and sustainability at each stage.
  • Tiers of Customers: Categorize customers into four tiers and brainstorm ideas for each group:
    1. Loyal Customers: Why do they stay? How can we keep them?
    2. Dissatisfied Customers: Why are they looking for alternatives? How can we win them back?
    3. Refusing Non-Customers: Why are they not even considering our product/service? How can we get them to try it once?
    4. Unexplored Customers: Who are the people not even on our radar? How can we reach and educate them about our product/service?

5. Design for the Extreme

This technique involves designing products or services for extreme users or extreme contexts and then adapting those solutions for mainstream use.

  • Example: Subtitles in movies were originally developed for the hearing-impaired (an extreme user), but they became popular for everyone. The vibration feature in cell phones was initially designed for the visually impaired but is now a mainstream feature.
  • Proactive Design: Instead of waiting for an extreme situation to happen (like a pandemic), a design thinker anticipates these scenarios and prepares for them. The rise of quick commerce, for instance, was a result of the extreme situation of the pandemic, which forced a new industry to be born.

6. The Six Paths Framework

This framework, also from the Blue Ocean Strategy, offers six paths to explore for innovation in a crowded market.

  1. Across Alternate Industries: Look for solutions in an unrelated industry. For example, applying electric vehicles to the cargo or rental industry instead of just the consumer market.
  2. Across Strategic Groups: Shift focus from one strategic group to another. For instance, positioning electric cars for the luxury segment as a status symbol of being environmentally conscious.
  3. Across Complementary Offerings: Think about products or services that can complement the main product. For example, a car company offering a lifetime free charging solution along with the car.
  4. Across Functional and Emotional Appeals: Reframe the product's appeal from a functional one to an emotional one. For example, an electric car could be marketed not just for low pollution but as a choice for a "caring" and "quiet" person.
  5. Across Time and Trend: Look to the past to find a retro trend that can be reinvented, like a high-end restaurant using banana leaves or electric double-decker buses in Mumbai.
  6. Across Strategic Groups: Shift a low-end product to a high-end segment or vice versa, like the Mini Cooper, which made small cars a symbol of luxury.

7. The Nine Windows

This technique from the Russian school of inventive problem-solving (TRIZ) helps you look at a problem from the perspective of time (past, present, future) and system levels (subsystem, system, supersystem).

  • System: The product or service itself (e.g., a bus).
  • Subsystem: The components of the system (e.g., the bus's seats, pricing, and routes).
  • Supersystem: The larger ecosystem in which the system operates (e.g., the city's transport network, social values attached to public transport).

By analyzing the problem across these nine windows, you can identify opportunities for innovation at different levels and time frames. For example, a coffee house can innovate by changing the product (subsystem), changing the way it's served (system), or changing its purpose to a coworking space (supersystem).

No Comments
Back to top