The goal of ideation is to generate a large number ideas, that could potentially inspire newer and better ideas. The process itself should cast a wide net in terms of concepts, and should provide innovative responses to our HMW questions. According to an article published by the Interaction Design Foundation, it is important to challenge our assumption, ask “stupid questions” and provoke our current understanding of the landscape. According to Don Norman, author of Rethinking Design Thinking, “asking stupid questions is not stupid at all.” Its the process of going from researching and defining the users needs to coming up with the rights solutions though ideation.
During my group’s ideation work, we realized the importance of repetition, and pushing past our “first best ideas.” During the first class period of ideation, we focused on eliminating waste from flights – and the first waste that came to mind was plastic waste such as the cups used for beverages. While we had a solid idea, that was relavent to the project, it was hard for us to push past it. Most of our sticky-notes were similar in scope, making it harder to view the idea from different angles. During our second ideation class period, we started throwing out less traditional ideas to see what stuck (thinking that they would just be backup plans), and we came upon an idea that is not currently implemented by airlines, but could be. It was less concrete than our original idea, and because of that, we were able to expand on it, and understand our it would relate/”solve” our HMW question. I believe that one of the toughest parts of this process was focusing on the “absurd” ideas. I realize that these are the ideas that are most creative, but it was hard to get past the reality of the problem. We kept on jumping into how we could implement it.
Innovative environments are crucial for maintaining a contemporary culture. Last year, the US dropped to 11th place in the Bloomberg Innovation Index. Now more than ever, it is important to foster an environment conducive to innovation/ideation and committed to continuous improvement. Over the next decade, new tech will be a key driver for the US economic growth, and through innovations, companies will be able to advance and enhance our nation as a whole. Innovation occurs through the process of ideation, which is why its critical that we as a society encourage the absurd ideas to promote forward momentum.