Product Ideation Techniques

   


 Ideation is a critical step in the design thinking process to create new product ideas, based on insights collected from the previous research and defining step. Ideation creates a blueprint to make prototypes. The below list is several ideation techniques that I found useful, some of which I have applied and witnessed many novel ideas generated (such as Crazy eight and Reverse brainstorming).

    According to Fullerton (2008), many of the techniques aim at generating unexpected ideas from the collision of chance and the unconscious mind. Also, they call for collaborative efforts from different participants who come from various backgrounds and contribute diverse perspectives.

  • Idea cards: Take a deck of index cards and write a single idea on each one. Then mix them up in a bowl. Now take out the cards and pair them. For example, “nectar” might appear with “giants.” Perhaps, your next game will include “nectar giants,” whose bodies are fluid and smell like persimmons. You can concatenate sets of two, three, or four cards.

  • Mind map: One good mind map exercise is to begin with the core concept for your game at the center and then map verbs or actions and the feelings associated with those actions around that central concept.

  • Stream of consciousness: Sit down at your computer or with a pen and paper and start writing anything that comes to mind when you think of your game. Just write as quickly as humanly possible. Whatever comes out is fine. After 10 minutes of spewing words on a particular topic, stop and read over what you have done.

  • Shout it out: This is similar to stream of consciousness, but rather than writing, you shout out whatever comes into your head while a voice recorder is running. After five minutes of auditory abuse, go back and transcribe your mad ramblings.

  • Cut it up: Take a newspaper or magazine, open it up to any page, and cut random words and images out of it. It does not matter what they are. Anything that attracts your eye is fine. When you have a pile of pieces, start play- ing with them, matching them up, and trying to come up with a game concept using this random collection. You can do the same with random Web page searches or using a dictionary or the phone book.

  • Exquisite Corpse: This version of the game is played with words. Everyone writes an article and an adjective on a piece of paper, then folds it to conceal the words and passes it to their neighbor. Now everyone writes a noun on the paper they are holding, folds it again to conceal their word, and passes it to their neigh- bor. Repeat with a verb; repeat with another article and adjective; finally, repeat with a noun. Everyone unfolds their papers and reads the poems they are holding aloud. One of the first poems written this way was, “The exquisite corpse shall drink the new wine,” which is how the game gets its name.

  • Research: Doing research means immersing yourself in a subject, and while your game system might not need to be precisely true to life, understanding how the real activity works can help you decide what to focus on and what to leave out for the best possible gameplay.

Other techniques can be easily searched with key words, including Crazy eight, Method 6-3-5, Reverse brainstorming, Brainwriting, 5 Whys, Step-ladder brainstorming, Card sorting, SCAMPER method, and Random word brainstorming

Reference:


Fullerton, T. (2008). Game design workshop: A play centric approach to creating innovative games. Burlington, MA: Morgan Kaufmann.

Photo by Markus Winkler: https://www.pexels.com/photo/the-word-creativity-spelled-out-with-scrabble-tiles-19867366/

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