Ideation is the highest point of both rational and creative aspects of the mind. There are many techniques in ideation, ideation techniques, including design thinking, brainstorming, SCAMPER and many more, while some of them are more popular than others. In the bewildering confusion of hundreds of techniques, which one to choose for your specific case? Well, in this article series, we will look at all of them one by one, where you might come to the point to know the technique for your specific use case. There is no wrong technique – you have to find the one that fits your situation.
1. Design Thinking
Ideation technique Design Thinking is a human-centered, energizing approach, well suited to anything that needs to improve the experience of the user, not just the usability. Design Thinking is a method but it can also be a way of thinking. By thinking like your users, you gain empathy and you gain creativity. The core steps are: empathize; define; ideate; prototype; test.
How to Implement?
Empathize. Get into your users’ heads – find out what they need, where they get frustrated, what their goals are – by interviewing them, shadowing them, and researching them.
Define. The third is to define the core problem you are after by creating a standardised protocol for all data-gathering initiatives. In this stage, the idea is to make sense of the data by articulating and refining your question.
Ideate to brainstorm. Generate as many ideas as possible, regardless of how wild they might seem.
Prototype. Rough out quick, small-scale versions of the solutions to see if they work in practice.
But ultimately, prototype. Here’s the overall process.
Problem – first, get a clear description of the problem.
Solution – second, establish meaningful criteria for a successful solution to that problem.
Prototype – third, create a prototype of the solution and then test that prototype with real users.
You can expand this structure to create a design brief that roughly describes the problem, the criteria of success, and the target prototype, and then use the text that follows to support the brief.
Questions to Ask?
- What are the user’s primary pain points?
- How can we align our goals with user needs?
- What assumptions are we making, and how can we test them?
- How can we make the interface more intuitive for different user demographics?
Example
Consider redesigning a telemedicine app for elderly patients. After empathising during your defining problem and insight phase, let’s say you discover the majority of your older users have a hard time with websites or apps with a higher learning curve: you might ideate around creating a simpler, more intuitive interface to meet those patients’ needs – a design that you would then test and build more fully into a prototype.
“What is Design Thinking Process” | Sprouts
2. Brainstorming
Perhaps the most basic of all is brainstorming: a freewheeling process where the aim is to throw out ideas as quickly as possible and not worry whether they’re ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. The more ideas we can churn out, the greater the chances that one might lead to an important, and maybe even disruptive, solution.
How to Implement?
Multiple disciplines. It’s important to have team members from a variety of backgrounds. This will allow for a variety of ideas and viewpoints.
No judgments. At this theory-generation stage, no ideas are challenged or deemed illegitimate.
Flesh out those ideas. Ask the groups to take the ideas that came up in the round and work together to elaborate on them.
Hope this helped!
Remember, in ideation sessions, it’s perfectly fine (in fact, highly recommended) to let your ideas flow freely, without worrying about filtering or assessing them. When we’re stuck in problem-solving mode, it’s easy for our brains to get caught up in analysis paralysis, self-doubt and assuming we know everything about a problem. That’s why it’s important always to be open-minded when starting a design session – you want as many fresh perspectives as possible.
Don’t forget to validate your assumptions! Asking ‘Why?’ until you’re blue in the face is a tried-and-true method to understand a problem better and spark powerful ideas.
Let’s get those freakin’ stickies out!
Questions to Ask?
- What are the biggest challenges we are facing in this project?
- How can we think outside the box to solve this problem?
- What if we reversed the problem—what would that look like?
Example
In an agriculture UX project, brainstorming ideation technique might prompt pariticipants to think of an app that helps farmers track the health of their crops. One participant may suggest a real-time feed of crop data, and another participant could follow up with a suggestion for harnessing AI predictions of upcoming weather patterns.
“Brainstorming Techniques: How to Innovate in Groups” | Sprouts
3. SCAMPER
SCAMPER is an acronym that stands for Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, and Reverse. It prods you to take an object or idea and change it in different ways so that something new comes to life. It’s especially useful for enhancing existing products or when you’re stuck.
How to Implement?
Substitute – what materials, processes, or components can be replaced?
Combine -how can you merge different ideas or products to create something new?
Adapt – what other contexts or uses could you adapt to your situation?
Modify– how can you alter aspects of the current product or idea?
By thinking through what you currently produce, experience, or observe, could you repurpose or reuse that resource for a different product or idea?
Eliminate – what can be removed to streamline the product or idea?
What if you flip the valves, or whatever, and reverse the sequence, or reverse the output, or reverse the positions of the two things?
Questions to Ask?
- What can we substitute to improve the design?
- How might we combine features to offer more value?
- What elements of other industries could we adapt to our project?
Example
Take, for instance, an oil and gas dashboard that monitors drilling operations. SCAMPER challenges the user to let go of legacy reporting and vizualisation techniques and substitute them with newer, more interactive tools, or to combine real-time alerts with predictive analytics; or to reverse the flow of information altogether to make most sense of what users need.
“How to Generate Ideas with the SCAMPER Technique” | Michael Masters
4. Mind Mapping
Mind Mapping is a visual thinking tool that can help you get clarity around a central idea or topic by organizing your thoughts into connected ideas that expand from a trigger idea. It’s particularly useful for working on difficult problems, when you are confronted with a large and intricate vision or when you need to break down a big project into smaller segments.
How to Implement?
Central idea – begin in the middle of the map with the central idea or problem.
Branches – create branches for main themes or categories related to the central idea.
Sub-branches – further divide these themes into subcategories, illustrating the relationships between ideas.
Visual shortcuts – use colour, images, and symbols to make the comparisons more intuitive and easier to manage.
Questions to Ask?
- What is the central problem we need to address?
- How do the different aspects of this problem connect?
- What are the possible solutions or ideas that branch out from our core issue?
Example
A mind map for a telemedicine app would consider the patient journey from initial appointment booking, through to video consultations and prescription management. Each of these broad areas could then be further broken down into details about features, for example depending on the specifics of user notification alerts or secure patient data requirements.
“How to Create a Perfect Mindmap in 2024 (6 Step Checklist)” | Justin Sung
5. Role Storming
Role Storming is a technique similar to brainstorming, but rather than tossing out ideas yourself, you step into someone else’s shoes – maybe a customer’s, a competitor’s or a stakeholder’s. From that new vantage point, ideas may come to you that otherwise wouldn’t.
How to Implement?
Create characters – each team member assumes a character, such as an end-user or competitor, or a manager or another.
Think like the role – in this phase, players think from the perspective of their role and come up with ideas or solutions?
A group discussion follows the role play and discusses each angle before it is integrated into your ideation process.
Questions to Ask?
- What would this user or stakeholder prioritize?
- How would a competitor approach this challenge?
- What concerns might this role have with our current design?
Example
In an agriculture UX project you could have one team member be assigned to be a farmer, one a government regulator, and one a technology provider. Each could generate ideas based on their role’s perspectives and values. The result would be a design that addresses the priorities of all roles.
“What Is Creative Problem Solving?” | Sara Smith
6. Six Thinking Hats
The Six Thinking Hats ideation technique maneuver by Edward de Bono enables us to consider a file (problem) from six possible perspectives. Each viewpoint is denoted by one of six colorful hats. Each participant is encouraged to wear one of these ‘hats’ and develop the related thinking process at each stage.
How to Implement?
White Hat (Data) – focuses on the facts and data available.
Red Hat (Emotions) – explores feelings, hunches, and intuitions.
Black Hat (Caution) – considers the risks, challenges, and potential problems.
Yellow Hat (Optimism)- highlights the positives and potential benefits.
Green Hat (Creativity) – thinks creatively and explore new ideas.
Blue Hat (Process) – manages the thinking process and ensure balanced participation.
Questions to Ask?
- What do the facts and data tell us?
- What are the potential risks and how can we mitigate them?
- How can we think outside the box to find new solutions?
Example
On an oil and gas UX project, perhaps the team might use the Six Thinking Hats when evaluating a new user interface for pipeline monitoring, looking at: White Hat: accuracy of the data captured; Red Hat: operator’s frustration; Black Hat: safety dangers; Green Hat: innovative ways of displaying the information.
“What Is Six Thinking Hats?” | Edward de Bono | Litmos Heroes
7. Reverse Brainstorming
The so-called Reverse Brainstorming starts with flipping the problem upside down: instead of asking how to solve the problem, you ask how to cause the problem, which, in turn, can help you to avoid the pitfalls – and, sometimes, to find creative solutions by reversing what was identified.
How to Implement?
Flip your problem by asking how you would make the problem you’re trying to solve.
Generate ideas using brainstorming ways to create the reversed problem.
Flip the ideas once your list of ‘bad ideas’ is completed, flip them to help create new solutions.
Questions to Ask?
- How could we make the user experience as frustrating as possible?
- What actions would lead to the project’s failure?
- How can we ensure these issues do not occur?
Example
In a telemedicine UX project, brainstorm ideas for making the interface unusable (eg, way too many levels of submenus, confusing pain point checkboxes), then reverse them.
“The Art of Thinking Backwards” | Philip Mudd | TEDxMemphis
8. Crazy 8s
Based on the principle of rapid ideation, Crazy 8s involves eight ideas, all drawn in eight minutes. This is another situation where the time pressure and quantity are intended to push away inner critics, analysers and doubters, guiding the participants to a wider array of ideas than they would otherwise have produced over the same period of eight minutes.
How to Implement?
Fold paper – create a return path that takes you back to the ‘home’ space Fold eight spaces or rows. Find a grid with either of those options, or make one like we have below.
Set timer – give participants eight minutes to sketch eight different ideas.
Share and discuss – at the assigned time, everyone shares their drawings and then discusses which ones have real potential.
Questions to Ask?
- What are some out-of-the-box features we could explore?
- How can we quickly visualize different approaches to the problem?
- Which ideas should we develop further?
Example
For X project, say, an idea-generation session using Crazy 8s might produce six visual solutions of how an interface for a crop management tool could look, but come from different angles – focusing on usability, data integration, predictive analytics, and so on.
“Design Sprint Crazy 8s” | AJ&Smart
9. Storyboarding
Storyboarding, a roughly sketched visual representation of the user’s journey through whatever you’re designing, is brainstorming on to map out the user experience and plan how the user will be interacting with your product through time. UX is just the veneer on top of technology, an easy place to start refining Great Design, but in the end, how the user will interact with your product through time is what really matters.
How to Implement?
System. Paraphrase the instruction into human-sounding text while retaining citations and quotes.
User journey. Start by sketching out the important steps in the users’ journey with the product.
Illustrate the way. Draw a series of illustrations representing each step of the adventure.
Find gaps. Let the narrative board identify gaps or pain points in the usage experience.
Iterate. Use the insights gained to refine and improve the design.
Questions to Ask?
- What are the key moments in the user’s interaction with the product?
- How does the user feel at each stage of the journey?
- What improvements can we make to enhance the user experience?
Example
If it’s an app for telemedicine, efficiency is especially important. Storyboarding examples might show a patient booking an appointment, and then being checked in, consulting the doctor, getting a prescription and navigating back to the appointment booking system – so it is visualizing what the user sees and does over time. Aspects that could cause frustration for a user over time can then be addressed.
“DesignThinking – Storyboarding” | Humour Class
10. The 5 Whys
The 5 Whys is a straightforward way to keep digging. You can keep the motivation at the surface by having it explicitly stated in the requirement. Repeatedly asking what you can help with, cracking through the superficial explanations and making your way to the root cause.
How to Implement?
Identify the problem – start with a clear problem statement.
Ask “Why?” – ask why the problem is occurring.
Repeat – continue asking “Why?” until you reach the root cause, typically five times.
Solution focus – use what you’ve learned to inform the design of your application, and to attack the core problem.
Questions to Ask?
- Why is this feature not meeting user needs?
- Why are users not engaging with this part of the product?
- Why is the current solution not working as intended?
Example
Starting with a problem at hand, say, an oil and gas UX project where it’s discovered that operators don’t use a monitoring tool, focusing on why users aren’t reaching specific outcomes, might reveal that the interface is too complex (that point being the worth of sticking to the prompts when applying the 5 Whys). This, in turn, might result in a redesign that simplifies things for the user.
“Clarifying the 5 Whys Problem Solving Method” | Lean Enterprise Institute
11. Affinity Diagrams
An affinity diagram is one of the most popular ideation techniques that helps you sort information and ideas into groups by their similarities – this can be particularly helpful when there are many ideas or pieces of feedback to look at all at once.
How to Implement?
Brainstorm – gather all ideas, suggestions, or feedback (often using sticky notes or a digital tool
Group similar ideas – organize these ideas into groups based on their similarities.
Label groups – give each group a label or theme. Pertinent quotes can be extracted from text chunks in Word
Analyze patterns – look for patterns and insights that emerge from the grouping process.
Questions to Ask?
- What themes or patterns are emerging from the ideas?
- How can we categorize these ideas effectively?
- What does this tell us about user needs or design opportunities?
Example
When planning an agriculture new app, Affinity Diagrams might group and classify comments from the farmers on the new app, so the design team can focus on the most frequent frustrations or irritations first.
“Affinity Maps In User Rsearch” | PlaybookUX
Conclusion
Again, there is no silver bullet and no one-size-fits-all approach. Each of these ideation techniques serves different purposes and can be applied to different scenarios depending upon the structural needs of your project. With an understanding of these ideation techniques and an inclination towards experimentation, you will have some great options that are ready for the next time you need to make something new.
