INTRODUCTION:
Ideation is a method of idea generation and communicating, which many corporate offices have recently developed into strategies to incorporate into their current work environments.
Ideation can be termed as the process by which new ideas are generated. This creative process allows teams to collaborate, develop and communicate new innovative ideas to the company. These ideas can be visual, abstract or concrete. Ideation encompasses a litany of creativity techniques used to elicit more ideas. These methods promote original thought and usually include the usage of games, toys, or exercises to convey the point of the idea generation exercise. Examples of these techniques can include white boarding, brainstorming, mind mapping or therapeutic/improvisational problem solving.
Ideation helps teams come up with new ideas for their company or project advancements yet it also helps teams[YA1] compile major pieces of a project within a timely manner allowing each team member the ability to contribute to the overall success of the end goal objective.
EXERCISES FOR IDEATION – There are several types, but we will focus on the 5 highlighted in yellow below:
Brain Walking / Magazine Rip and Rap CollageCarousel Brainstorming / Lateral Thinking
Mind Mapping / Scamper
The Wish Technique / Bill Boarding
Problem Redefinition / Whiteboarding
20 Questions / Idea Naming
[YA2]
Mind Mapping
Mindmapping has been popularized by Tony Buzan, a top lecturer on the brain and learning, who dictates that Mind Maps abandon the list format of conventional note taking. According to Buzan, “a Mind Map is a thinking tool that reflects (externally) what is going on (internally) inside our minds.” Further, Buzan likens the mind map to a Swiss army knife for the brain; with different tools for our brain to function, the Mind Map is the ideal tool for anything we want to do in terms of,
●Thinking
●Contemplation
●Cognition
●Remembering
●Creating
Buzan proclaims,“The brain is radiant, meaning it thinks centrally, and explodes out in all directions.” As such, in a Mind Map, branches are curved and tapered rather than straight-lined, they are organic and free flowing, as opposed to structured and uniformed. “The brain thinks by imagination and association, thus the branches on a Mind Map are a reflection of the way the brain thinks. So, when you think of anything, you have your picture, and you have your associations off that.”
“Buzan asserts, “Traditional note-taking in lists and lines is counter-productive is because it doesn’t have the associations. If you don’t have associations, then you don’t have connections. If you don’t have connections, then you don’t have memory or thinking. In a Mind Map the branches are always curved, curvilinear, because nature is curvilinear. If all the branches are straight, it is literally rigid, similar, and therefore, boring. The brain will very quickly become unhappy with a whole bunch of rigid straight lines. The brain gets absorbed and intrigued by the beauty of curvilinear.”
Buzan touts Mind Maps as “straightforward and fun” To draw a Mind Map first start in the center of a blank page, then connect branches to the central key image or key word; and then connect 2nd and 3rd level branches to the 1st and the 2nd and so on. The important point to note in structuring Mind Maps is to use one key word per branch. “That one word with all its associations is “free.” If you put words together on a branch you’re making it more rigid. The single word per line approach gives you much more freedom, much more creativity, much more clarity. Ideally, the length of the word should be the length of the branch; because you want each branch to be connected and close.”
The Purpose
This strategy helps participants quickly relate a central word or concept. The mind forms associations almost instantaneously and 'mapping' allows you to write your ideas more quickly by using only words or phrases.
How to Mind Map
To make a mind map, start in the center of the page with the main idea, and work outward in all directions, producing a growing and organized structure composed of key words and key images.
●Take a large sheet of paper and place it horizontally in front of you.
●Draw a reasonably sized (colored) memorable central image that represents the topic you are going to be mapping.
●Draw at least 4 thick organic looking branches radiating outwards from the central image. Make sure to use a different color to represent each branch.
●Write “key topic” words along these branches that represent the central image and the topic you are mapping.
●Draw additional branches that extend from your main branches. The words on these branches are essentially sub-topics of the words you wrote on your main branches.
●Keep expanding the Mind Map outwards with additional sub sub-topics / key words and branches.
An Example Mind Map: Grouping Materials
Key features are:
●Organization
●Key Words
●Association
●Create Connections
●Clustering
●Visual Memory - Print the key words, use color, symbols, icons, 3D-effects, arrows and outlining groups of words
●“Outstandingness” - every Mind Map needs a unique center
●Conscious involvement
The Benefits of Mind Mapping
●Improved capacity to see the bigger picture.
●Improved capacity to see detailed information.
●Improved capacity to remember complex information.
●Improved capacity to remember related chunks of information.
●Improved capacity to cope with mental clutter.
●Improved capacity to cope and manage periods of information overload.
●Improved imagination.
●Improved memory and retention.
●Improved levels of concentration.
●Improved note-taking ability.
●Improved level of interest in the content or subject one is studying.
●Improved problem solving ability.
●Improved management of study and revision time for Academics.
●Helps unlock hidden understandings within information chunks.
●Helps unlock unexpected creative insights and ideas.
●Helps save time.
●Helps make learning fun.
●Clarifies goals.
●Clarifies plans of action.
●Clarifies ideas.
●Clarifies habitual patterns of thinking.
●Triggers creative associations.
●Triggers comparison of facts, stats, data and ideas.
●And much more that is based upon personal experience, need and ability.
Mind Mapping for Work Productivity
Here are some ways people utilize visual mapping at work:
• Planning sales strategy.
• Planning marketing strategy.
• Organizing and managing projects.
• Organizing and managing meetings.
• Preparing for networking.
• Preparing for interviews, and conducting interviews.
• Business planning.
• Research and development.
Mind Mapping for Academic Success
Here are some ways students utilize visual mapping at school:
• Learning languages.
• Learning grammar.
• Preparing for examinations.
• Preparing structure for essays.
• Preparing presentations.
• For teaching purposes.
• Brainstorming ideas.
• Problem solving.
• Thinking creatively and critically about topics.
• Memorizing subject notes, books and materials.
• For general study and revision of information.
Mind Mapping for Life Management
Here are some ways people utilize visual mapping to manage their life:
• Managing time.
• Managing events.
• Goal setting.
• Keeping a diary.
• Holiday planning.
• Financial planning.
• Tracking important dates, events and information.
Mind Maps are useful for:
●Summarizing information.
●Consolidating information from different research sources.
●Thinking through complex problems.
●Presenting information in a format that shows the overall structure of your subject.
●problem solving
●outline/framework design
●anonymous collaboration
●marriage of words and visuals
●individual expression of creativity
●condensing material into a concise and memorable format
●team building or synergy creating activity
●enhancing work morale
References
How to Mind Map: A Beginner’s Guide
Mind Map
What is Mind Mapping?
Mind Maps, A Powerful Approach to Note taking
What is Mind Mapping?
Mind Mapping – Basic Rules
Maximize the Power of Your Brain - Tony Buzan MIND MAPPING
What is Mind Mapping?
Mind Maps
How to Make a Mind Map – Version 1
Example of a Mind Map
Magazine Rip and Rap Collaging
What is it?
Magazine Rip and Rap Collaging is an Ideation technique to help generate ideas. Magazine images and words are extracted and glued to paper in the form of a collage. (Matimore)
Why use it?
The theory is that humans like images and are more able to initiate new concepts based on visual stimuli. (Buzan) (Matimore)
Facilitation Instructions for a group (Matimore)
■Break participants into teams of three
■Pass out magazines containing a lot of images to each team
■Pass out scissors, glue and something to paste images onto (like large sheets of paper) to each team
■Identify the topic for all participants
■Ask each team to work with its own participants to cut out any pictures or words that feel even remotely related to the topic. Then they should paste those onto the paper as they feel appropriate.
■Remind participants not to criticize one another’s selections.
■They should add their own words, themes and images to the collage to define relationships and tell a “story”.
■Give participants about 30 minutes to collage.
■Ask each team to present their collage to everyone else.
■Record new ideas the collage presentations generate.
Notice (Matimore)
■The exercise should be relaxing and fun for everyone
■Although time consuming, there should be a lot of new ideas
References
MATIMORE, BRYAN. 2008. Ideation Techniques. The Growth Engine Company, Norwalk, CT.
BUZAN, TONY. 1996. The Mind Map Book: How to Use Radiant Thinking to Maximize Your Brain's Untapped Potential. Plume, New York ,NY.
Background
Lateral thinking is a phrase coined by Dr. Edward de Bono as a counterpoint to conventional or vertical thinking. Lateral Thinking refers to solving problems through an indirect and creative approach. Lateral thinking is about reasoning that is not immediately obvious and about ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic.
Edward de Bono was born in Malta in 1933. He attended St Edward's College, Malta, during World War II and then the University of Malta where he qualified in medicine. He proceeded, as a Rhodes Scholar, to Christ Church, Oxford, where he gained an honours degree in psychology and physiology and then a D.Phil in medicine. He also holds a Ph.D from Cambridge and an MD from the University of Malta. He has held appointments at the universities of Oxford, London, Cambridge and Harvard.
Dr Edward de Bono is one of the very few people in history who can be said to have had a major impact on the way we think. In many ways he could be said to be the best known thinker internationally.
He has written numerous books with translations into 34 languages (all the major languages plus Hebrew, Arabic, Bahasa, Urdu, Slovene, Turkish etc).
He has been invited to lecture in 52 countries around the world.
Lateral Thinking will teach you how to think creatively, turn problems into opportunities, find alternative solutions, & dramatically increase your number of new and practical ideas using unconventional thinking techniques normally untapped by our usual ways of thinking.
Lateral thinking is more concerned with the movement value of statements and ideas. A person would use lateral thinking when they want to move from one known idea to creating new ideas. Edward de Bono defines four types of thinking tools:
- Idea generating tools that are designed to break current thinking patterns—routine patterns, the status quo
- Focus tools that are designed to broaden where to search for new ideas
- Harvest tools that are designed to ensure more value is received from idea generating output
- Treatment tools that are designed to consider real-world constraints, resources, and support[1]
Benefits
It can help with brainstorming business ideas, whether they be new features, new products, new services, or enhancements on current offerings. It can help with your marketing campaign, especially in social media and viral marketing, where clever and creative hooks can expand your reach exponentially.
It can help with your operations too. Take a look at your current distribution system. Or product development process. Or accounting system. Look at it from someone else’s perspective. Are there ways to improve those processes? If you tore down all preconceptions and assumptions, are there new alternatives you hadn’t considered before?
- Constructively challenge
- Find and build on the concept behind an idea to create more ideas
- Solve problems in ways that don t initially come to mind
- Use alternatives to liberate and harness the creative energy of the organization
- Turn problems into opportunities
- Select the best alternate ideas and implement them
Not only people who devise strategy or work in R & D, but anyone who wants a disciplined process for innovation, idea generation, concept development, creative problem solving, or a strategy to challenge the status quo.
If you face fast-changing trends, fierce competition, and the need to work miracles, you need Lateral Thinking.
The Lateral Thinking Techniques
Alternatives: Use concepts to breed new ideas. Concepts are general ideas or general ways of doing things. Every concept has to be put into action through a specific idea. Thinking of a variety of specific ways to implement a concept is one way to generate ideas. Then each specific idea can be mined for additional concepts. Extracting a new concept creates a whole new pathway for generating further specific ideas.
Focus: Sharpen or change your focus to improve your creative efforts. This technique helps sharpen or change your perspective to improve your creative efforts. “Focus” is not commonly thought of as a tool, but it is. For example, you can learn to focus on areas that no one else has bothered to think about. Doing so may lead you to a breakthrough idea simply because you are the first person to pay any attention to this area.
Challenge: Break free from the limits of accepted ways of operating. This technique helps you break free from the limits of accepted ways of operating. Challenge is key to innovation because it is based on the assumption that there may be a different way to do something even if there is no apparent problem with the current way of doing it.
Random Entry: Use unconnected input to open new lines of thinking. This technique uses a randomly chosen word, picture, sound, or other stimulus to open new lines of thinking. This tool plays into the power of the human mind to find connections between seemingly unrelated things.
First, the person or group lists all the alternatives that they can think of without using the tool, Then they select a random word or other random stimulus. Then they juxtapose the stimulus alongside the focus topic and generate ideas to connect the two.
Provocation: Move from a provocative statement to useful ideas. This technique helps us move from a provocative statement to useful ideas.
Employees are often admonished to “think outside the box” with no instructions for how to do so. Provocation & Movement designate a formal process that enables you exit the box with ease—and return with a compelling list of innovative ideas to consider.
First participants learn the definition of a Provocation, or PO. Then they prepare for the uncomfortable fact that Provocations are deliberately unreasonable ideas that would be immediately vetoed by those who do not understand the process.
Harvesting: Select the best of early ideas and shape them into useable approaches. This technique is applied toward the end of a thinking session in order to bank ideas that may prove to be valuable in the current situation or in the future.
Harvesting both increases the number of ideas that are saved and provides a way to organize ideas by how developed they are at present. Harvesting helps you spot ideas that could be implemented right away as well as those that need more work. By Harvesting, you can avoid moving too quickly to choose among all of the ideas you’ve generated. Instead, take a longer look and make the most of the “yield.”
Treatment of Ideas: How to develop ideas and shape them to fit an organization or situation. This technique helps develop ideas and shape them to fit an organization or situation.
Treatment is particularly useful for working with Beginning Ideas to make them more specific and practical. One Treatment method is called Shaping. Here you think of any constraints that might interfere with the execution of the idea. Then you shape the idea to fit within these constraints.
Starters/Icebreakers
Four critical factors associated with lateral thinking:
recognize dominant ideas that polarize the perception of a problem