THE SECRET LIFE OF IDEAS

RIAZ

IDEATIONThe creative process by which teams generate, develop and communicate great new ideas.

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OR

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how can we thrive in creative chaos.

IDEATION IS GROUP SPORT

A team centered approach to developing

ideas brings creativity to your organization

in a way that depend on the any lone genius.

With a team, having a unified and candid

language around the process of developing

ideas is key to developing the best.

At it’s best ideation feels like play.

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HOW TO TAKE A FUZZY CONCEPT

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AND GROUND IT TO ACT ON

IDEATION DELIVERABLES

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OPPORTUNITY AREA HUNCHES

CONCEPT SEEDS LITTLE BETS

DEVELOPED CONCEPT DECISION POINTS

PORTFOLIO OF IDEAS BIG BETS

IDEATION STAGES

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INSPIRATION CONCEPTING EVALUATION REFINEMENT PROPOGATION

INSPIR

ATIO

N

CONCEPTING

EVA

LUAT

ION

REFINEMENT

PROPO

GATION

IT’S NOT A LINEAR PROCESS

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THE BIGGER THE QUESTION

THE MORE RESEARCH AND

IDEATION YOU NEED TO

HAVE AN EFFECTIVE

ANSWER

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Q!

CONCEPTS IDEATION

RESEARCH INSPIRATION

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THE ANATOMY OF AN IDEA

HEART OF THE CONCEPT HOW TO MAKE IT DESIRABLE

BUSINESS & TECH FEASABILITY HOW TO KEEP IT REAL

BIG STORY HOW TO SHARE FAR AND WIDE

IDEATION IS THE FIRST HOURALONG A 24 HOUR DAY

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IF NEEDED IDEATION CAN GUIDE YOU ALONG THE WAY…

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Field Guide to Ideation

IDEATION STAGES

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INSPIRATION CONCEPTING EVALUATION REFINEMENT PROPOGATION

INSPIRATION

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NOTES FROM THE FIELD

Design research with it’s ethnographic focus and qualitative nature is often the richest form of inspiration. It is usefulness is as much to inform the design team with facts as it is to be a source of inspiration for the art of design. At it’s core it’s a means to provide stories as data. The stories in turn allow for the richest design debates.

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LIFE LONG CURATION

If the designer has a long held passion or interest for a particular subject a slow curation can also be used to inform and inspire the design. This is particularly the case when you have a designer or a team that has worked with a particular subject for a long period of time or the ability to apply a broad passion to a wide range of opportunity areas.

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KNOW IT ALL TROLL

This demon insists that any additional research is a waste of time because it’s all been done before. They won’t even go through the research or have someone bring the stories in there to life. Instead they insist you read the long and often dry research documents.

Possible Solution: Find someone in that has the ability to bring the research stories to life. Have the the whole team listen.

CONCEPTING

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START BY MAKING

It’s always hard to get started with a blank page. It’s better to get started with something slightly (or completely) incorrect and then talk about a grounded artifact than to spend too much time discussing nothing. Make then talk.

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MANAGE FIDELITY

A design team in the early stages of design has to be well versed in a variety of fidelities of the work. They need to be able to quickly switch between fidelities as needed. Early on being able to start with a wide quantity or ideas and being able to increase fidelity with each iteration allows the process to take you to new heights. Don’t start with an end in mind or you’ll always limit yourself to maximizing that limit.

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FAIL GRACEFULLY

When great ideation teams push forward towards new cutting edge ideas they fail and fall in front of each other often. Failing sucks. Especially when you are working with deadlines approaching and a dozen more concepts to build. Not only does each individual have to be able to take failure in stride you have to as a group create an environment that allows for and encourages taking risks early in the process. We are all responsible in creating an environment that allows a person to bounce back.

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DR. DETAILS

This demon wants everything to be so perfect they are either paralyzed in their ability to give feed back or they can’t focus beyond a section of the work to look at the whole.

Possible Solution : Zoom out to see the bigger picture. You have to get the broad strokes right before you go into the details. Ask to have Dr. Details visit again in refinement state.

EVALUATION

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KILL YOUR DARLINGS

Be willing to take apart ideas that are your own. It’s okay to stop pitching and shift you stance to really see what survives the evaluation process.

It’s okay to feel bad about this to because all the good designs have a little of piece of your soul in them.

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CULTURE OF CRITIQUES

It’s very important to have the ability to speak candidly and without hierarchy when talking about ideas. Few things can set you down the wrong path as groupthink or agreeing blindly to authority. Nothing can shut down ideas faster than an authority figure laying down the hammer.

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EVALUATING IN THE ROUGH

Working with a mixed fidelity medium can be hard for certain individuals. ‘I will know it when see it’ mentality is only helpful if you have deep pockets and no timeline. In order to move forward we have to build in the ability to assess ideas when not all of them are fully formed. One of the ways to do this is to ask which parts we are focusing on.

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FRANKEN-IDEATOR

This demon can’t make a decision so they insist on combing all the ideas together to create an often weak compromise. Concepts are opportunities for decisions and often represent different paths you can take.

Possible Solution: Have a secret staff of franked idea failure to share with these guys. Ask them to make a clear stand.

REFINEMENT

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START FROM THE HEART

You have to allow time to refine the concept before you set it out in to the world. To do so you have to find the heart of the concept. What makes it good. Be ruthless about keeping the heart of the idea good. As Walt Disney would say keep plussing until you get the most amazing version of the concept possible. This is an example of Emotion Driving Focus and a core value of form follows function.

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MINIMAL VALUABLE PRODUCT

A slight shift on the minimal viable product where we find the edges of what is meaningful. Once you know the heart of the product start from building the smallest part of that instead of starting from the easiest part of the concept. You’ll realize making anything new is incredibly hard - so why not invest in the thing that will give you the greatest return. Take care when spending your resources.

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LOW HANGING FRUIT SALESMAN

This demon would rather pick a lack luster failure than to risk failure to achieve a meaningful goal. They try to tempt you with so called low hanging fruit when in fact most of the time all they have is rotten and probably been rolling around in the mud.

Possible Solution: Show them what design can accomplish when it is brave and brazen. Ask if this is the best use of their resources.

PROPOGATION

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TELL THE RIGHT STORY

The part of the design that will spend the concept far and wide is the story. Telling the story of the idea is a nuanced craft. One that is tailored slightly to each audience. For that reason it’s best if the assets for the design story are flexible in nature. One strategy is to have some part written and some part fresh.

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EMPOWER CHAMPIONS

Work to curate team of champions around your idea early on. If they are invested and passionate about the idea they will be able to carry it forward and have a vested interest in finding ways to bringing it to fruition. After all don’t forget ideation is just the start of the long journey.

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PORTFOLIO OF IDEAS

A lot of little bets are necessary to effect impactful change in an organization. Why bet on only one thing when you can have a portfolio to range your bets.

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THE GATEKEEPER

This demon has risen to power by saying no to everything. Sort of like a troll on a bridge the VP of No derives his or her power from fear.

Possible Solution: Try breaking through with technical and business value support. You might need to make a spreadsheet for this one.

@ahmedriaz www.ahmedriaz.com thesecretlifeofideas.tumblr.com

THANKS!