A Simple Ideation Model

A Simple Ideation Model

Why ideate? You should consider ideation any time you are stuck, have a sticky problem, are looking to the future, considering change, are presented with a dilemma from your environment, or even when you start a new project or are working with a new group of people. Leading ideation sessions is one the most enjoyable facilitation experiences for me. It’s a space where typical rules don't apply. You can bend the laws of physics and economics. And participants have the freedom to leave behind their trained modes of judgement and critical thinking. It’s a high energy space. The best part is the real, usable outcomes are generated quickly. People are always surprised by the volume of ideas. At the same time, good ideation requires a skilled facilitator. To help with this, I have developed a simple model for ideation and divergent thinking. I will present the model and go into details about each step in the process.

Once you’ve decided to organize and conduct an ideation session, it is important to consider how participants can enter a state free of judgment and full of creativity. Much depends on the setting and the facilitator. The process cycles between states of stimulating thinking, capturing what is offered, and building on ideas. Eventually, the energy of the group wanes and idea generation slows down – a perfect time for a new stimulus. When the group has covered the ground the can or when the generation process hits its target, it’s time to wind down the process and prepare for what comes after ideation. Here is more on each step in the process.

Step 1: prepare. I take what might be considered excessive care in preparing for ideation sessions. While impromptu divergence can be magical, more often than not, doing significant pre-work leads to better sessions. It’s important to select a facilitator trained in ideation or at least with significant experience and to give that individual the opportunity for early input in preparation. Two facilitators are best, especially when the group size increases. Next think about the participants - who should be there? And sometimes who shouldn’t be there. Some groups ideate better without the senior leader. Most ideate better in diverse groups and when outsiders are present. Logistics are important too like where the session will be held, what time of day, and what the environment will be like. I prefer rooms unlike most meeting rooms with open space and free walls and windows. Also for consideration are the materials needed (easel, paper, white board, pens, technology, etc.)? It’s hard to ideate with a room full of people looking at their laptops or phone checking email. I like to develop a planning document that I call a facilitation guide for these and most other kinds of facilitations. The document helps organize thinking and gives the clients and facilitators a platform for review and revision well ahead of time. A key part of the preparation is to identify the session’s desired outcomes.

Step 2: stimulate. There are a few times that the facilitator needs to stimulate activity and thinking. First to get the ball rolling and second, downstream in the sessions when idea generation slows down. Often, you can start the session with a simple question, but facilitators need techniques at their disposal to get new ideas flowing when the first wave of ideas wanes. Another approach is to include outsiders in the session. These turbulators are placed there intentionally to stimulate participants and, optimally, receive some coaching before the session to help them in their role. I like to introduce other things along the way to bring more ideas forward; artifacts on hand to further stimulate the flow of ideas like handouts, data, video, pop up speakers, etc. Also, I’ve found that most groups slow down if stuck in a single process. Facilitators can stimulate thinking by switching techniques midstream – whole group, small group, individual, writing, sticky notes, etc. Finally, subtle or stark changes in the environment or setting work well – standing up, moving outside, changing seats or groups, or bursting into song. Think about these ahead of time or launch into them spontaneously; it’s important to consider what other elements of surprise can you bring to the session?

Step 3: offer. The two core actions of ideation are offer and capture. Offers are what participants say and do in the session. This tends to flow naturally in small groups, but you should consider how participants will know when to share ideas and will only one individual be asked to speak at a time. Some basic ground rules help set this process in motion. There are a lot of alternatives to shouting out ideas though, so consider when offers can be written down, drawn, shaped out of clay, or given in nearly any form of expression. Offers can be stories, experiences, models, or simple ways to phrase or rephrase things. Keeping the ideas flowing and building is crucial, so during preparation consider how many facilitators will be necessary and which facilitator will take the lead in directing the offers and the flow of the session. Facilitators also have other roles like cutting off deep discussion, overly critical responses, and other distracting comments or by getting the session back to ideation if it turns into something else. Finally, there are two general kinds of offers, fresh ideas or builds, new twists on the last idea (more on that later). You may want to capture them differently. Now, about capturing...

Step 4: capture. The second core action is generally the role of the facilitator(s), capturing the ideas and their context. In most of my sessions I capture ideas using markers and paper, it’s simple, visual, and cost effective. But there are a variety of media that can be used to capture ideas from electronic, to photo and video, to collections of artifacts created during the session. In planning the session, it’s good to consider the media to be used and what level of detail will be captured. Or, if the session should have secondary media like audio or video recording, transcription, note takers, etc. Capture can be chaotic and when the session size grows above a dozen or more, typically more facilitators will be needed to record ideas. Some very large sessions may need 4 or 5 individuals helping harvest ideas. As capture occurs, it’s important to visually present the ideas throughout the session for later reference and further stimulation. A helpful tip is to think ahead about what you can do during capture to make your life easier when synthesizing outcomes after the session ends.

Step 5: build. Not every offer is a good idea – but, even bad ideas can lead to great ideas later. The facilitation team should think ahead about how to create an environment where builds are encouraged. In any part of a session, participants may say “this connects to what Jim said” or “this builds on my first idea” so facilitators should encourage participants to say when an idea is a build or model that behavior early in the session. Builds may also be captured differently, either in or along with the original idea stream or using some kind of note or format to remember them later. On the broader scale, progressive ideation is a powerful technique where you take the results of early ideas and intentionally build on them to create better ideas later in the session or in separate ideation sessions at a later time. Facilitators should consider how to use the design of the sessions to layer builds across time to help refine ideas.

Step 6: conclude. All good things must come to an end. Sometimes it can be difficult to turn off the idea fountain when you are either out of time or have passed the goal of the session. You should think ahead about how to know when you have enough ideas. Also, you must ensure that everything was captured and recorded – it can be difficult to reconstruct notes later. The lead facilitator usually signals the close of the session and may make the final thank you comments, but a key leader among the participants may also close the session. Before leaving the room, it’s good form to let the participants know what will be done with the outcomes and what feedback will be given later. Will a summary be available and how do you plan to synthesize the results? In the days that follow two determinations should be made – to what degree was the problem statement addressed and will follow up sessions be needed.

Advanced considerations. A few more thoughts on the model. It is very helpful to set ground rules in the process. I introduce these at the beginning of the session, even with experienced participants. These helpful suggestions can serve to launch ideas, reduce confusion, and aid capture. Here is an incomplete list:

• understand the objectives
• go for quantity
• withhold criticism
• stay focused on the topic or the problem
• one conversation at a time
• be visual
• welcome unusual ideas
• combine and improve ideas
• question anything you don’t understand

• defer judgement
• encourage wild ideas
• build on the ideas of others
• headline your thoughts

Finally, while steps always appear linear and sequential, please give yourself the flexibility to move around freely. Cycle forward and backward in the model as necessary. You can also apply the model over the long term by linking multiple sessions together with different groups or by advancing the thinking. This allows you to take the output for one session and feed it as input to a following session.

Next week I'll review a list of specific techniques for ideation and divergence.