How Might We vs Problem Statement
This ideation process followed a very similar ideation process we did for Customer Insight to Innovation. The only difference I noticed was that we used “How Might We” statements instead of problem statements. I personally preferred using a problem statement instead of a how might we statement for the ideation process because I felt it focused the group’s brainstorming process better.
Ideation: The Process
There were only two of us on the first day of ideation process which hindered our brainstorming process. With less people, there are less ideas which leads to less brainstorming. I really enjoyed the ideation/brainstorming process. It took us a little but of time to warm up and get going. I did not realize that you have to be in a creative mood or it is more difficult to brainstorm. I had some caffeine before Day 2!
We came up with several good ideas, one of which is our main idea moving forward. There are times where the process can be discouraging because there is a decline in idea generation, but moving onto the next step in the process (generating crazy ideas) stimulated the team and atmosphere. Some of our ideas were unobtainable and impractical. This step gave our team more energy and ignited our creativity. Our ideas ranged from not being able to turn lights on during the day to no shower access to save water. We ended up generating several new ideas based on our crazy ideas. Most of these ideas were too impractical to use, but we were able to spin a lot of them into practical ideas during the third step.
It was motivating to see how many ideas we had come up with in such a short period of time. Most of them dealt with incentives, promotions and displaying of sustainable information. We realized that these ideas could all be used if we created a “Marriott Eco Rewards Member.” We are still working out the details of what this might exactly represent, but we look forward to working on it in the prototyping phase.
One component our team and I kept forgetting to do throughout the process was verbalizing the headline as we posted it. I believe we forgot to do this because we were immersed in our own thoughts and reading what was on the board. When we began to verbalized the headline we:
- Didn’t have to pause brainstorming to read what others had posted.
- Listened to others ideas which increased idea generation
- Expanded our thought process due to other’s ideas.
It was neat to see everyone’s ideas though and to be able to build off each other. This stage was certainly productive for us, but I could feel that we were still not confident in our thought process.
Courage
From previous class experience and going to an innovation and design studio brainstorming event, I have realized the importance of confidence in oneself during the ideation process. I felt myself being restricted by my own judgement and insecurities during the first day of ideation. For our second ideation session, where I would be the project champion, I reread “Reclaim Your Creative Confidence” so I could be a better leader for my team. You can’t be creative if you are constantly censoring yourself. Part of the importance of the brainstorming process is to resist judging yourself and allow your creativity to come out to create ideas. When you can listen to your own intuition and embrace your ideas (good and bad), you will become more confident in yourself . I experienced this fear most predominantly when coming up with out of the box ideas. I think critically and logically and had a difficult time coming up with crazy ideas.
Quadrants
We used the same dimensions for both ideation sessions. Some of our ideas were not specific enough to easily classify into one section of the four quadrants. Our four quadrants were clearly defined with high vs low sustainability high/low consumer acceptance. We put a few of our ideas on the line of the quadrants because they could go into both sections. We were each given five votes. The votes were spread out which I think is beneficial because we had a lot of good ideas
Time Management
The Ideal facilitation guide was a useful tool in allocating time. You monitored our time during the first session, but on the second day I was the Process Champion and used my phone to time each section. After we completed our second ideation process, we decided to optimize our class time and brainstorm ideas around our favorite solution, “Marriott Eco Rewards Member.” Many of the ideas we brainstormed will be used in this service such as rewards points for not using room service, providing Marriott Public transportation, creation of “sustainable suits”, tax on energy/water usage over an X amount that would be donated to an environmental group etc.
Some Ideas
- I believe having illustrations of our solutions instead of simply writing would have made some of our ideas feel tangible.
- Possibly playing a word game. During my internship, we would play a game where the group leader would say a word like “Hotel” and then we would create ‘essence words’ like functionality, inclusiveness, and bed that encapsulate the possibility of an idea, even if they seem crazy.
- Take breaks to give the brain a break
- Possibly looking into seeing if there is an application one could use on their phone to help with the brainstorming process. If not, this could be a unique idea to think about and possibly include in your book?