A field guide on how great teams can develop amazing ideas.

1. THE SECRET
LIFE OF IDEAS
RIAZ

2. IDEATION
The creative process by which teams
generate, develop and communicate
great new ideas.
2

3. OR
3
how can we thrive in creative chaos.

4. IDEATION IS GROUP SPORT
A team centered approach to developing
ideas brings creativity to your organization
in a way that depend on the any lone genius.
With a team, having a unified and candid
language around the process of developing
ideas is key to developing the best.
At it’s best ideation feels like play.
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5. HOW TO TAKE
A FUZZY CONCEPT
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6. 6
AND GROUND IT
TO ACT ON

7. IDEATION DELIVERABLES
7
OPPORTUNITY AREA
HUNCHES
CONCEPT SEEDS
LITTLE BETS
DEVELOPED CONCEPT
DECISION POINTS
PORTFOLIO OF IDEAS
BIG BETS

8. IDEATION STAGES
8
INSPIRATION CONCEPTING EVALUATION REFINEMENT PROPOGATION

9. INSPIRATION
CONCEPTING
EVALUATION
REFINEMENT
PROPOGATION
IT’S NOT A
LINEAR PROCESS
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10. THE BIGGER THE QUESTION
THE MORE RESEARCH AND
IDEATION YOU NEED TO
HAVE AN EFFECTIVE
ANSWER
10
Q!
CONCEPTS
IDEATION
RESEARCH
INSPIRATION

11. 11
THE ANATOMY
OF AN IDEA
HEART OF THE
CONCEPT
HOW TO MAKE IT
DESIRABLE
BUSINESS & TECH
FEASABILITY
HOW TO
KEEP IT REAL
BIG STORY
HOW TO SHARE FAR
AND WIDE

12. IDEATION IS THE FIRST HOUR
ALONG A 24 HOUR DAY
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13. IF NEEDED IDEATION CAN GUIDE YOU
ALONG THE WAY…
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14. Field Guide
to Ideation

15. IDEATION STAGES
15
INSPIRATION CONCEPTING EVALUATION REFINEMENT PROPOGATION

16. INSPIRATION

17. 17
NOTES FROM THE FIELD
Design research with it’s ethnographic
focus and qualitative nature is often the
richest form of inspiration. It is usefulness
is as much to inform the design team with
facts as it is to be a source of inspiration
for the art of design. At it’s core it’s a
means to provide stories as data. The
stories in turn allow for the richest design
debates.

18. 18
LIFE LONG CURATION
If the designer has a long held passion or
interest for a particular subject a slow
curation can also be used to inform and
inspire the design. This is particularly the
case when you have a designer or a team
that has worked with a particular subject
for a long period of time or the ability to
apply a broad passion to a wide range of
opportunity areas.

19. 19
KNOW IT ALL TROLL
This demon insists that any additional
research is a waste of time because it’s all
been done before. They won’t even go
through the research or have someone bring
the stories in there to life. Instead they insist
you read the long and often dry research
documents.
Possible Solution: Find someone in that has
the ability to bring the research stories to life.
Have the the whole team listen.

20. CONCEPTING

21. 21
START BY MAKING
It’s always hard to get started with a blank
page. It’s better to get started with
something slightly (or completely)
incorrect and then talk about a grounded
artifact than to spend too much time
discussing nothing. Make then talk.

22. 22
MANAGE FIDELITY
A design team in the early stages of design
has to be well versed in a variety of
fidelities of the work. They need to be
able to quickly switch between
fidelities as needed. Early on being able
to start with a wide quantity or ideas and
being able to increase fidelity with each
iteration allows the process to take you to
new heights. Don’t start with an end in
mind or you’ll always limit yourself to
maximizing that limit.

23. 23
FAIL GRACEFULLY
When great ideation teams push forward
towards new cutting edge ideas they fail and
fall in front of each other often. Failing sucks.
Especially when you are working with
deadlines approaching and a dozen more
concepts to build. Not only does each
individual have to be able to take failure in
stride you have to as a group create an
environment that allows for and encourages
taking risks early in the process. We are all
responsible in creating an environment
that allows a person to bounce back.

24. 24
DR. DETAILS
This demon wants everything to be so
perfect they are either paralyzed in their
ability to give feed back or they can’t focus
beyond a section of the work to look at the
whole.
Possible Solution : Zoom out to see the
bigger picture. You have to get the broad
strokes right before you go into the details.
Ask to have Dr. Details visit again in
refinement state.

25. EVALUATION

26. 26
KILL YOUR DARLINGS
Be willing to take apart ideas that are your
own. It’s okay to stop pitching and shift
you stance to really see what survives
the evaluation process.
It’s okay to feel bad about this to because
all the good designs have a little of piece of
your soul in them.

27. 27
CULTURE OF CRITIQUES
It’s very important to have the ability to
speak candidly and without hierarchy
when talking about ideas. Few things can
set you down the wrong path as
groupthink or agreeing blindly to
authority. Nothing can shut down ideas
faster than an authority figure laying down
the hammer.

28. 28
EVALUATING IN THE
ROUGH
Working with a mixed fidelity medium can
be hard for certain individuals.‘I will know
it when see it’ mentality is only helpful if
you have deep pockets and no timeline. In
order to move forward we have to build in
the ability to assess ideas when not all
of them are fully formed. One of the
ways to do this is to ask which parts we are
focusing on.

29. 29
FRANKEN-IDEATOR
This demon can’t make a decision so they
insist on combing all the ideas together to
create an often weak compromise.
Concepts are opportunities for decisions
and often represent different paths you can
take.
Possible Solution: Have a secret staff of
franked idea failure to share with these
guys. Ask them to make a clear stand.

30. REFINEMENT

31. 31
START FROM THE HEART
You have to allow time to refine the
concept before you set it out in to the
world. To do so you have to find the heart
of the concept. What makes it good. Be
ruthless about keeping the heart of the
idea good. As Walt Disney would say keep
plussing until you get the most amazing
version of the concept possible. This is an
example of Emotion Driving Focus and a
core value of form follows function.

32. 32
MINIMAL VALUABLE
PRODUCT
A slight shift on the minimal viable product
where we find the edges of what is
meaningful. Once you know the heart of
the product start from building the
smallest part of that instead of starting
from the easiest part of the concept. You’ll
realize making anything new is incredibly
hard - so why not invest in the thing that
will give you the greatest return. Take care
when spending your resources.
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33. 33
LOW HANGING FRUIT
SALESMAN
This demon would rather pick a lack luster
failure than to risk failure to achieve a
meaningful goal. They try to tempt you with
so called low hanging fruit when in fact
most of the time all they have is rotten and
probably been rolling around in the mud.
Possible Solution: Show them what design
can accomplish when it is brave and
brazen. Ask if this is the best use of their
resources.

34. PROPOGATION

35. 35
TELL THE RIGHT STORY
The part of the design that will spend the
concept far and wide is the story. Telling
the story of the idea is a nuanced craft.
One that is tailored slightly to each
audience. For that reason it’s best if the
assets for the design story are flexible in
nature. One strategy is to have some part
written and some part fresh.

36. 36
EMPOWER CHAMPIONS
Work to curate team of champions around
your idea early on. If they are invested and
passionate about the idea they will be able
to carry it forward and have a vested
interest in finding ways to bringing it to
fruition. After all don’t forget ideation is
just the start of the long journey.

37. 37
PORTFOLIO OF IDEAS
A lot of little bets are necessary to effect
impactful change in an organization. Why
bet on only one thing when you can have a
portfolio to range your bets.

38. 38
THE GATEKEEPER
This demon has risen to power by saying
no to everything. Sort of like a troll on a
bridge the VP of No derives his or her
power from fear.
Possible Solution: Try breaking through
with technical and business value support.
You might need to make a spreadsheet for
this one.

39. @ahmedriaz
www.ahmedriaz.com
thesecretlifeofideas.tumblr.com
THANKS!