Layers behind brainstorming
Roadblock; almost everyone has hit one before. Whether you’re a detective solving mysteries or an author plotting the next chapter of your book, idea roadblocks are extremely common.
Yet, many people don’t realize that the process of overcoming those roadblocks doesn’t just end with a simple brainstorm. The ideation process is an extensive and ever-growing process of techniques that aim to help you think of creative, new ideas. Each of these techniques can be useful for different purposes and none are incorrect to try. Plus, ideation is at the heart of the design thinking process; a process I’ve been discussing on this platform for quite some time now.
According to the Interaction Design Foundation, these are some ideation techniques worth trying:
Brainstorming
Braindump
Brainwrite
Brain walk
Worst Possible Idea
Challenge Assumptions
Mindmap
Sketching
Storyboard
Body storm
Analogies
Crowdstorming
Movement
Gamestorming
And plenty more.
After analyzing the positive, negative and critical reviews of three popular apps, I decided to try out some of these ideation techniques on them.
The first app I analyzed was Pinterest. The first POV statement that I recognized after reading the reviews was: Users who use Pinterest to spark inspiration or creativity, need an option to scroll through Pinterest without ads because the ads are disruptive.
The first ideation technique I used was the brainstorming technique. This is one of the most basic ideation techniques that worked well for this problem statement because it was on the simpler side. I also used brainwrite in which I wrote down ideas on paper and then went back to them later and elaborated on them. This allowed me to come up with the last idea to make the ads blend into the feed. Therefore it doesn’t disrupt the feed.
The second POV statement I recognized was: Users who use Pinterest to show off their creativity, need to be able to do so without glitches because this hinders their performance.
The first ideation technique I used was mind mapping. Mind mapping helped me create more ideas than I originally would have thought of with just brainstorming. Additionally, I used cheatstorm to help me expand on the ideas I already had.
Then, I analyzed the Chipotle app to help come up with better solutions for customers struggling with the app.
The first POV statement was: Users who use the Chipotle App to order ahead need their food to be prepared just as well as if they were standing there because they value quality food.
The first ideation practice I used for this was sketching. I sketched what the point system would look like and how it might entice workers. I think if workers got more points from making orders online they would do it better because it creates that same pressure that is present when the customers are watching you create the food. I also used CrowdStorm to look up similar reviews of people talking about the quality of food on the app. This helped me understand the overarching theme.
The second POV statement was: Users who use the Chipotle App need better app support services because otherwise they have to go into the store, which defeats the purpose.
To start, I used mind mapping. I enjoyed this technique because it allowed me to visualize my ideas and branch off of some of the ones I already had. This technique allowed me to think of creating a video to use on their website because it was a branch-off from another idea. The second ideation technique I used was anti-problem. This means flipping the problem around and trying to solve it that way. This instead sparked inspiration for me for the actual problem.
Lastly, I analyzed the Google Photos app. The first POV statement was: Users who use Google photos to store their photos, need more storage options because sometimes the highest option still isn’t enough.
The first ideation technique I used was the worst possible idea. This was because all of the other solutions seemed too obvious so I needed to switch it up. I also used the challenge assumptions technique for a similar reason. This helped me think outside of the same ideas that kept coming to mind.
The second POV statement was: Users who use Google Photos regularly to view photos need one standard policy because a policy that keeps changing is frustrating
The first ideation technique I used was crowd-storming because this allowed me to find other reviews that were similar to this. It turns out that people think the regular app can be confusing when the policies change. Therefore, I thought of the idea of creating different browsing modes to make browsing seamless. The second ideation technique I used was brainstorming different ways that google photos can fix this problem. I discovered that allowing people to fully customize their experience (giving them control) would be a good solution.
Overall, the most useful technique for me was mind mapping. I enjoyed mind mapping because it gave me a chance to brand off of my other ideas. I think the ideas that are worth pursuing are the ideas for Pinterest ads and the point system for Chipotle.