Key takeaways
💡 Ideation is the process of generating and developing new ideas through creative techniques.
🔦 The main purpose of the ideation stage is the generation and exploration of different solutions to a problem or challenge.
🔍 Filtering of ideas so that they are both creative and feasible is important for driving the product growth forward.
If you are on the lookout for a new product idea or looking to revamp your existing product with fresh ideas, then running an ideation session should be at the top of your list.
Ideation sessions are a great tool for coming up with bold ideas, and they can get your team’s creative juices flowing in no time!
If you have never run such a session before, fear not. In this article, we have collected everything you need about ideation sessions, including 10 tried-and-tested techniques and our top tips for ideation sessions without a hitch!
What is ideation?
Ideation is the process of generating and developing new ideas through creative techniques.
In the design thinking theory, ideation is the third step of the process, following the understanding of user needs (empathize) and the clear definition of the problem (define). It comes before the prototype and test phases.
The main purpose of the ideation stage is the generation and exploration of different solutions to the defined problem. As Charles Kettering said:
A problem well stated is a problem half solved.
The key during the ideation process is to encourage innovation, creativity, and collaboration to get the creative juices flowing and come up with the most effective solutions.
The importance of ideation
The ideation phase is a crucial phase of the design thinking process, as it is a unique opportunity for teams to collaborate with the shared goal of finding the best possible solution to a problem.
This is a phase where idea creation is encouraged, ensuring that teams get to explore a problem deeper and discover more effective and innovative solutions.
The process of generating and articulating fresh ideas values diverse perspectives, and it is based on open communication and collaboration.
Ideation also rejects judgment, enabling the team to share ideas that might seem unconventional at first but have great insights to offer!
Last but not least, the ideation process includes the filtering of ideas so that they are both creative and feasible, driving the product development cycle forward.
💡 Pro Tip
Discover the top 15 design thinking tools for each stage in this article.
Top 10 ideation techniques
If you have never run an ideation session before, don’t worry! Here are our top 10 ideation techniques to ensure maximum creativity:
1. Brainstorming
First on our list is, of course, the brainstorming technique. Brainstorming is a technique that encourages a flow of ideas to be generated in a group setting.
The goal of this exercise is to generate as many ideas as possible within the brainstorming session with only one rule: there are no bad ideas!
For a successful brainstorming technique, make sure to equip your physical or virtual space with either a whiteboard or an online whiteboard tool such as Miro or Mural.
Communicate the rules from the very beginning to ensure that wild ideas are encouraged and that criticism stays out of the role!
💡 Pro Tip
Once you set the topic, give everyone time and plenty of sticky notes to jot down their ideas. For better analysis, cluster similar ideas and use a voting system to identify the most valuable one.
2. Reverse brainstorming
Another great technique to get your team’s creative juices flowing is reverse brainstorming. Fundamentally, reverse brainstorming flips the problem-solving by focusing on how to worsen the problem, then reversing this idea into solutions.
For an effective session, make sure to clearly state the problem and ask the question ‘How can we make this worse’ to the participants.
Similar to the brainstorming session, use a whiteboard and sticky notes to list those ideas and then flip them into potential solutions to identify the most innovative ones.
3. SCAMPER
The SCAMPER technique can help your team rethink and evaluate existing ideas during your ideation phase by asking some key questions that reveal the value of the idea.
Start the session by writing down the existing idea to be evaluated along with the SCAMPER questions, which are the following:
👉 What can be replaced?
👉 How can this be adapted?
👉 What can be combined for new results?
👉 Can it serve a new purpose?
👉 What if it were flipped?
👉 Can anything be removed?
This technique can help your team rethink and evaluate existing ideas during your ideation phase by asking some key questions that reveal the value of the idea.
To further enhance this process and provide real-time feedback, conducting live interviews can help you understand how users perceive and interact with your ideas.
Want to include user interviews in your UX research?
Try UXtweak’s Live Interviews! Seamlessly schedule, recruit, conduct, and analyze your all user interviews.
⬇️ Learn more about the feature and be the first to try it!
4. Mind mapping
Next on the list is mind mapping! Mind mapping is an idea visualization technique that can massively help your team organize ideas and understand their relationships during the ideation phase.
For an effective session, start with a central concept or idea and draw branches to relate to other ideas. Expand with sub-branches if needed! Toward the end of the session, vote for the most promising ideas.
5. Random word association
This is a unique technique that can spark your team’s creativity by pushing them to explore unexpected connections between a random word and the problem you are trying to solve.
Start the session by picking an unrelated word using a dictionary or a random word generator. Write down emotions or characteristics related to this world.
Finally, find ways to link those associations back with the problem and think about how those can work as solutions!
📌 Example: the random word ‘balloon’ in the context of the checkout process can be linked with a surprise element, leading to the idea of adding surprise discounts to your checkout process.
6. Round robin
Round robin is another excellent technique to generate ideas while ensuring that everyone is involved.
For a great round robin session, form a circle and encourage each person to think of an idea or even contribute and build on others’ ideas. Continue until all the participants of the session have contributed.
7. Crazy 8s
Crazy 8s is a fast-paced exercise where participants are asked to sketch out ideas. Take a piece of paper and divide it into 8 sections.
Give participants just 8 minutes to sketch one idea per minute. Look collectively at the sketches and work as a team to refine the most applicable ideas.
8. Role storming
Role storming is another great technique to get your team’s creative thinking going. In this exercise, participants are asked to take different roles or personas and think outside the box.
For an effective role storming session, come up with some influential or well-known personas and assign them to your team members.
Once you assign the different roles, ask them what this persona, e.g., Steve Jobs, would do in this situation. Finally, get your team to brainstorm from the perspective of that role.
💡 Pro Tip
To make role storming even more effective, encourage participants to embody their personas fully by adopting their mannerisms, language, or decision-making processes.
9. Analogies
Analogies revolve around comparing your challenge to an unrelated industry to gain fresh perspectives and potential solutions.
To recreate this session, simply identify an industry that is unrelated to your product, compare processes and tactics, and find insights for new innovative solutions.
10. The five whys
Last but not least, the 5 whys is a tried-and-tested ideation technique which attempts to explore the root cause of the problem by repeatedly asking the question ‘Why?’.
To use this technique, simply define the problem and ask why five times, each time removing a layer of the problem. Finally, use the responses to conclude on what the root cause of the problem is, before you try to identify a solution.
Did you know that…?
Reddit users point out that the most effective way to run ideation sessions is to:
👉 Use unrelated warm-up exercises to help participants think outside their usual patterns
👉 Frame questions open-ended and broad so that participants can explore a wide range of ideas
👉 Break the group into smaller teams to encourage more focused, intimate discussions
👉 Create a judgment-free zone where participants feel comfortable sharing unconventional ideas
How to run ideation sessions
Running an ideation session requires smooth facilitation and good management of group dynamics. Here are some of our key tips when it comes to running ideation sessions without a hitch:
☀️ Create a safe environment
To take full advantage of your ideation session, it is important that participants feel encouraged to share ideas. Make sure to create an open and safe environment and keep a positive attitude throughout the session.
💡 Pro Tip
Always celebrate contributions and make it clear from the very beginning that all ideas are welcome!
⏱️ Manage the session timeline effectively
Another great tip when it comes to ideation sessions is effective time management. Creating an agenda for the session and setting clear time limits will help you break down your session into parts with clear time limits.
🧩 Encourage collaboration!
It is no coincidence that ideation sessions consist of multiple participants, and it is no secret that the best ideas come from collaboration.
To create an open environment that fosters collaboration, do not forget to encourage participation from all members and facilitate the discussions when needed!
⚡️ Keep the energy high
Keeping the momentum is also crucial for an effective ideation session.
To achieve this, always add short breaks in between to keep the attention levels high and do not forget to check in with the participants to make sure they stay engaged throughout.
🗣️ Adapt to group dynamics
Last but not least, every team and group is different, and so are their dynamics! Always remember to be an agile facilitator and adapt your style to accommodate the different group dynamics.
💡 Pro Tip
If some voices overtake the conversation, you can deploy techniques like the round robin to ensure equal contribution from all parties.
To truly refine your ideas and ensure they resonate with users, testing them with real user feedback is essential.
With UXtweak, conducting user interviews and usability testing is seamless. Start testing your ideas today!
Tips for Running Ideation Sessions Online
Running ideation sessions online comes with some unique challenges. Here are some of our tried-and-tested tips to stay afloat:
📍 Ensure participants are comfortable using the online tools needed for the session.
First things first, start by ensuring that all participants have access to the tools needed for the online session. Tools like Miro or Mural are great online collaboration tools to tap into.
No matter how intuitive those are, do not forget to ensure that all participants are familiar with the main features beforehand to avoid any disruptions during the session.
📍 Use interactive tools and activities!
Maintaining engagement in online sessions is tough, so introducing interactive tools such as digital sticky notes or online voting options like polls can boost engagement and keep participants involved in the process.
📍 Be prepared for technical issues!
Technical issues can make or break an online ideation session, so make sure to test your tech stack in advance to avoid any unpleasant surprises along the way.
💡 Pro Tip
Have someone else at hand to address technical issues if and as they arise to keep the session as uninterrupted as possible.
Wrapping up
In a nutshell, running an effective ideation session requires strong facilitation skills and good time management.
Fostering an open, safe, collaborative environment for your ideation sessions is the alpha and the omega for their success.
Remember to manage group dynamics to encourage equal participation and keep the energy levels high. Finally, do not forget to address the unique challenges of online ideation sessions.
User interviews and usability testing are essential parts of the design thinking process, and UXtweak provides the tools to make them seamless.
With powerful features for UX research, UXtweak helps you validate and refine your top ideas before moving forward. Ensure your designs are user-centered—try it today for free! 🐝
📌 Example: a negative idea could be to make a certain service slower, so the flip side of that would be to speed up the response times of that service.