The fourth lecture in the HITD 201 course. This lecture was taught by Mark Billinghurst at the University of Canterbury on Wednesday, December 11th 2013. It talks about how to generate problem solving ideas.

1. HITD 201
Ideation
Mark Billinghurst
HIT Lab NZ
December 11th 2013

2. Design Thinking Process
5 modes iterated through

4. The Ideate phase transforms your Discover
research into meaningful insights that you
will then use as a structure for
brainstorming innovative new ideas.

5. Process
 Sort learnings
 Search for themes
 Find insights
 Generate How Might We questions
 Brainstorm
 Select ideas

6. Evolution of Notes
 From learnings to ideas
 Individual to group input

7. Sorting
 Tell stories about what was learnt
 Process
 Set up a space
 Take turns
 Use story prompts
 Actively listen
 Capture information in small pieces
 Display notes

8. Story Prompts
 » Personal details: who did you meet?
 » Interesting stories: what was the most memorable and
surprising story they told you?
 » Motivations: what did this participant care about the most?
What motivates him/her?
 » Barriers: what frustrated him/her?
 » Interactions: what was interesting about the way he/she
interacted with his/her environment?
 » Remaining Questions: what questions would you like to
explore if you had another conversation with this person?

9. Search for Themes
 Cluster related information
 Find headlines

10. Journey Map
 To gain empathy for a person’s process
through an experience
 Consider the details of that process to illuminate
areas of potential insights
 Create diagram with multiple observations
 Organize data in timeline with significant dates
 Look for patterns

11. Journey Map

12. 2 x 2 Matrix
 Use during problem synthesis process
 Organize relationships between things or people
 Process
 Pick two spectra - axes
 Draw 2 x 2 matrix
 Plot items on matrix
 Look for gaps/opportunties

13. Example: Breakfast Cereals

14. 2 x 2 Matrix

15. Themes into Insight Statements
 Insights – concise expression of what is learned
from research and inspiration activities
 Process
 Turn headlines into statements
 Reconnect learnings to challenge
 Refine insight
 Get an outsiders perspective

16. Create How Might We ?
 How might we questions
 Starting point for brainstorming
 Generate questions from insights
 Start with How might we/I ?
 Multiple questions for each insight
 Select 3 brainstorming questions

17. Problem Definition Creates Insight
User + Need = Insight

18. How Might We … ?
 Short questions that launch brainstorming

19. Examples
 How might we provide transportation options
for distributors supplying fruit in low-income
neighborhoods?
 How might we sell more fruit in low-income
neighborhoods?
 How might we incentivize distributors to
make fruit deliveries in low-income
neighborhoods?

20. Examples
 How might we provide transportation options
for distributors supplying fruit in low-income
neighborhoods? TOO NARROW
 How might we sell more fruit in low-income
neighborhoods? TOO BROAD
 How might we incentivize distributors to
make fruit deliveries in low-income
neighborhoods? JUST RIGHT

21. Brainstorming
 Best with interdisciplinary team

23. Facilitating a Brainstorm
 Energy
 Keep ideas flowing, seed questions
 Constraints
 Add constraints that might spark new ideas
 Process constraints – eg lack of time
 Space
 Create space for brainstorming

24. Idea Constraints
 What are the most obvious solutions for this problem?
 What can you add, remove or modify from those initial
solutions?
 How would a 5-year-old child solve the problem?
 How would you solve the problem if you had an
unlimited budget?
 How would you solve the problem without spending
any money?
 How would you solve this problem if you had control
over the laws of nature?

25. Body Storming
 Physically acting out ideas
 Physically experiencing a situation
 Props, actors, space

26. Selection
 Narrow down brainstorm list
 Hang onto ideas people excited about
 Don’t worry about feasibility
 Carry forward multiple ideas into Prototyping
 Techniques
 Post-it voting
 Four categories method
- Rational, delightful, darling, long shot
 Bingo method - Idea that inspires

27. Assignment Three
How might we create a space that supports both
private and shared working?
 Brainstorm as many ideas as possible (> 20)
 The select down to your three favourite ideas
 Submit a list of the brainstormed ideas, and
the final three ideas with reasons why you
selected them