Tips & Tricks

Once you follow all the steps of the technique it’s likely that you’ve come up with at least 64 concepts by now.  What do you do with all of them?

• You need to sort through your list. If you’ve worked on paper but want to store all this information digitally, then now is the time to do that.
• Keep everyone together and spread out the ideas so that everyone can see them.  In order to avoid losing anything, it might be more convenient for everyone to stick everything on a board and then take photos on their phones so they can refer to it when they are back at their desks.
• Refer back to your fundamental problem when you’re ready to begin so that it’s in the forefront of your thoughts when you’re evaluating each proposal.  Then ask yourself/the team:
  • Do you think that solves the original problem?
  • Do they match the project?
  • If so, how well does it fit in?
  
  Tips: To begin, work from the outside in.  The concept should be kept if it gets three ticks.  Try to alter it so it answers all of the above questions if it doesn’t.  If not, toss it in the trash.  Be merciless.
• Narrow down the list of acceptable ideas.  Now things get a little more complicated (and subjective).
• Select your three favorites.  Use stickers or comments to identify your favorites when working in a group. 
  Tip: Try mixing up your teams (if you’re working in groups) so individuals are exposed to different ideas.  To avoid bias, the group should be shuffled to avoid getting too connected to our own creations.
• Most people won’t choose the same three, so make a list of your favorites, then prioritize it.  A SWOT analysis can assist you evaluate each solution, helping you limit it down until you find a winner.
• You should next review those questions (is it aligned with the problem, project, and business) as a final check to ensure that the answer is “yes.”