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Ideation is the third step of 5 in the design thinking process, and probably the most fun. Here, you take the information you’ve learned about your users to develop solutions that will best fit their needs. However, if you’re like me, sometimes ideas are hard to come by, making this one of the most challenging steps. Luckily, there are hundreds of techniques out there that can facilitate your thinking.
Ideation techniques are methods that help generate ideas in a certain way. The most common one out there would have to be brainstorming. But after a while even brainstorming gets boring, and it’s not always the most helpful way, which is why people have come up with variations like braindump, brainwriting, brainwalking, etc.
As you perform the ideation stage over time, you’ll be able to form your own arsenal of techniques that work for you and can apply in a variety of situations. Here are what some consider to be the most essential:
BRAINSTORMING
As described earlier, brainstorming is probably the most well-known technique. This is typically done in a group setting, but can also be done individually. Each individual writes down one idea per post-it note, which is then shared with the group and added to the overall board of ideas. From there, the group can discuss what could potentially work and go from there.
MIND MAPPING
Another common household technique, mind mapping has someone start off with the problem or issue encircled in the middle of a paper. Ideas or related items are then added by drawing “branches” connected to the middle. You can continue to do this until you have a web of relationships with potential solutions tangled within.
SKETCHING
A technique practically as old as time, sketching allows someone to draw visuals instead of writing down words. This is especially helpful for web or mobile-based problems but can be used for anything.
SCAMPER
SCAMPER is an acronym where each letter is a specific verb that gets someone to focus on a certain aspect of the problem. This is a very successful technique that can yield great results because problems can often be solved by one of these verbs.
CHALLENGE ASSUMPTIONS
Are you creating ideas assuming that your users understand or know certain things? Sometimes we create assumptions that unconsciously inhibit a solution. If your user doesn’t know how to use the search feature, for example, they will not benefit from more filter options.
Using the Point of View (POV) statements from the last blog post, I tried out two different ideation techniques for each to analyze which one worked best and why. My complete analysis can be found below.
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