Ideation Techniques & Challenges

Explore efficient ideation techniques and learn about the obstacles that might encounter you during the ideation stage.

Leadership

10 exercises

While ideation is a crucial stage in the design process, it's often overlooked or undervalued by many teams. Some stakeholders might view certain ideation methods as time-consuming or unproductive, particularly in environments with tight deadlines or a strong focus on immediate results.

Techniques like lengthy brainstorming sessions, extensive user research, or elaborate concept development can be seen as hindrances rather than assets, especially if the tangible outcomes of these processes are not immediately apparent. This perspective can lead to a reduced emphasis on ideation, potentially impacting the overall quality and innovation of the design outcomes.

However, with proper planning and research, ideation processes can significantly boost a product's success and lead to more innovative and user-centered solutions. It's about balancing the creative exploration with focused objectives and efficient methodologies.

Conduct brainstorming sessions

Brainstorming is a key ideation technique in design, encouraging the generation of diverse ideas. It's essential to choose the right type of brainstorming for your needs, be it structured sessions, unstructured creative bursts, or digital brainstorming tools that suit remote teams. Here are some tips to enhance your brainstorming sessions:

Encourage wild ideas: Allow freedom to think big, capturing even seemingly impossible ideas. These can inspire feasible solutions.
Go for quantity: Focus on generating a broad range of ideas. This helps move beyond initial thoughts, paving the way for more innovative concepts.
Defer judgment: Separate the generation of ideas from their evaluation. Judging too early can stifle creativity and discourage open sharing.
Be visual: Utilize sketches and visual aids. Visual representations can communicate ideas more effectively than written descriptions, often leading to unexpected, valuable insights.^[1]

Utilize mind maps

Mind mapping is a versatile tool in design thinking, aiding in visualizing and connecting ideas. In design, it helps in structuring thoughts logically, fostering creative solutions.

There are some tips for effectively using mind mapping in design thinking:

Start with a central idea: Begin your mind map with the main concept or problem at the center, then branch out.
Use branches for major categories: Create branches from the central idea for different aspects or elements of your design project.
Add keywords and images: Use single words or short phrases, along with visuals, to keep the map clear and stimulating.
Employ colors for organization: Differentiate branches or themes using colors to enhance visual clarity and memory.
Keep it flexible: Allow your mind map to evolve and expand as new ideas and connections emerge during the design process.
Collaborate and share: Mind maps can be great collaborative tools in design teams, enabling easy sharing and collective brainstorming.

Visualize ideas through storyboards

Storyboards, as a visual storytelling tool in UX, effectively communicate a story through a sequence of images, offering clarity and inspiration for action.

Here are some tips:

Use simple visuals: Stick figures or basic sketches are sufficient.
Be specific: Clearly define the user scenario and persona.
Use captions: Add concise bullet points for context.
Choose appropriate fidelity: Match the level of detail to your audience's needs.
Collaborative creation: Involve your team for diverse perspectives.
Iterate: Share and refine based on feedback.^[2]

Utilize the power of words

Written ideation, an often-overlooked technique in the design process, harnesses the power of words for creative thinking. This approach involves jotting down ideas in writing, either individually or collaboratively. It's especially useful for remote teams or those preferring reflective thinking over vocal brainstorming. Here are some effective strategies for written ideation:

Encourage silent individual writing: This ensures that everyone's voice is heard, including those who might be less vocal in a group setting.
Limit time: Set a specific time frame, typically 3-10 minutes, for participants to write down their initial thoughts. This helps in generating a variety of ideas quickly and efficiently.
Incorporate brainwriting: A collaborative method where participants write ideas on paper and pass them around, allowing others to add or build upon them. This enhances the diversity of ideas.

Overcome creative block with design charrettes

Design charrettes are collaborative sessions where different roles quickly sketch design ideas for a specific design challenge or goal. They're valuable for drawing inspiration from various perspectives, overcoming creative blocks, promoting inclusivity, and streamlining design.

In a design charrette, the collaborative nature leads to a rich variety of ideas, reflecting the diverse priorities of participants. For instance:

A UX designer might suggest a swipe-based navigation for a mobile app, prioritizing user experience.
A developer could propose using a specific framework for better performance, focusing on technical aspects.
A marketing specialist may recommend integrating social sharing features to boost user engagement.

By the end, the lead designer gains not just a range of ideas, like swipe navigation, efficient frameworks, or social features, but also understands the varying priorities: user ease, technical robustness, and marketability. This broad perspective ensures a well-rounded design approach.^[3]

Involve designers in parallel design

Parallel design in UX involves multiple designers creating user interface suggestions independently, later merging these into one design. This method speeds up time-to-market by exploring various designs at once.

A study showed usability improvement of 70% with parallel design, compared to 18% using traditional iterative design. While it requires more upfront staff work, it's ideal for projects where quick market entry is crucial.^[4]

To effectively implement parallel design:

Distribute work evenly: Assign different aspects of the design to each team member.
Encourage independence: Let designers work independently to foster diverse ideas.
Set a timeline: Establish deadlines for initial designs to maintain momentum.
Merge and refine: Combine the best elements from each design into a cohesive version for testing.

Address the lack of time challenge

Many practitioners face time constraints not just in ideation itself, but also in conducting user research and following up on ideas.

Common issues include:

The pressure to quickly choose a design path
Agile development cycles not accommodating UX
Clients prioritizing development over design budget-wise^[5]

Despite these constraints, successful ideation doesn't necessarily require extensive time. Studies reveal that teams with effective ideation processes aren't spending more time on it than others. This suggests the importance lies in how the available time is utilized, not just in the quantity of time allocated.^[6]

How can you address the time challenge in ideation?

Prioritize setting clear objectives for each session
Streamline the process with techniques like time-boxing, where specific periods are dedicated to ideation
Encourage rapid, focused brainstorming to generate diverse ideas quickly

Deal with the lack of managerial support

In UX design, the lack of managerial support for ideation is a notable issue. This lack often results in insufficient time for ideation and difficulty involving other team members, who might view ideation as less critical or are too occupied with other tasks.

To overcome this, strong backing from upper management is essential. Leaders should recognize and communicate the value of ideation in the design process. By securing this support, teams can ensure adequate time for ideation and encourage participation from various departments.

Overcome the lack of user research

A key challenge in ideation is the lack of time for user research due to insufficient managerial support. Without user research, ideation can lead to ideas that don't align with actual user needs, as they're based on personal assumptions rather than data. This lack of understanding about the user leads to design decisions that may not be user-centered.

To counter this, it’s crucial to advocate for user research's importance in the design process. To advocate effectively for user research:

Highlight its value: Demonstrate how user research leads to more viable and effective designs.
Present case studies: Use examples where user research significantly impacted design success.
Propose efficient methods: Suggest agile and cost-effective research methods that integrate well with existing workflows.
Educate about user-centric design: Explain how user insights directly contribute to better user experiences and product success.

Learn to address group-dynamics issues

Group-dynamics issues are a common challenge in ideation sessions. Anger, frustration, or feeling ignored in some sessions can hinder the creative process, but the value of group sessions is too significant to overlook.

To address group dynamics issues in ideation:

Foster respect and inclusivity: Establish a team charter focusing on respect for diverse ideas and backgrounds. Reinforce this commitment at the beginning of each session, ensuring a safe environment for sharing.
Set clear guidelines: Clearly outline rules for engagement, such as no interruptions and validating every idea, to establish a constructive framework for discussions.
Balance participation: Implement techniques like 'pass the baton' or timed sharing to guarantee equal voice for all participants, ensuring a diverse range of ideas.
Use a neutral facilitator: An impartial facilitator, either internal or external, can effectively steer the session, maintaining focus, and resolving any conflicts or dominance issues within the group.