Chris Murray talks brainstorming, a topic central to design at large. Learn about the benefits of brainstorming and how to have effective, meaningful approaches to problem-solving. For more information about interaction product design and to connect with Bresslergroup, visit http://www.bresslergroup.com/blog/interaction-design-for-the-internet-of-things/

1. Bresslergroup
More Brain, Less Storm
Chris Murray
Director of Industrial Design

2. CHRIS MURRAY
Director of Industrial Design
Chris leads teams of designers and engineers on innovation projects
across various industries, including consumer electronics, industrial
equipment, household appliances, and medical products. He writes
and presents about Innovation Strategy, Research-Driven UX
Optimization, and Visual Brand Language, among other topics.
He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Industrial Design at the Central School of Art & Design
(London). Chris previously led ID and innovation insights at Black & Decker in MD.

3. 1 About
2 Why Brainstorm?
3 Problem Identification
4 Problem Framing
5 Session Planning
6 Brainstorm Rules & Tools
7 Summary & Questions

8. Why Brainstorm?
02

9. More people are being asked to innovate more often

10. For Alex Osborn, withholding criticism & focusing of quantity were fundamental to freeing up the imagination of participants

11. The technique has received some bad press lately…….

12. How to produce more innovative ideas together than we do alone?

13. Problem Identification
03

14. The product end user & new technology are often our core stimulus for brainstorms

15. Ethnographic user research helps us to discover user frustrations & unmet needs
1. Impact of Living with Diabetes 2. Education 3. Injection Process
Identifying research insights for JOC framework analysis
4. Diabetes Supplies 5. Kits 6. Needle Disposal
7. Measuring & Recording 8. Interactions with HCP 9. Technology

16. A Job is something that has to be done (e.g. cook a meal). Customers “hire” a product to perform a specific job.
Jobs are not one-dimensional:
• A functional Job describes how the consumer gets a specific task done or a achieves a personal goal.
• An emotional Job describes how the customer feels or wants to feel.
• A social Job describes how the customer wants to be perceived by others.
An Outcome is a metric (measurable statement) that the customer uses to define success in accomplishing a job.
• If the job is “what the customer wants accomplished,” then the outcomes are “how the customer measures
whether the job is getting done satisfactorily”.
A Constraint is an imposed restriction or limitation that keeps the customer from using a given solution, or the
business from delivering a solution.
* JOC framework for understanding customer needs – Clay Christensen, Harvard Business Review & The Innovator’s Solution

17. Higher
Importance for
Patient
Lower
Importance for
Patient
Not Currently Addressed by Tested ProductsPartially Addressed by Tested Products
Safely Covering
Needle for
Disposal
(Current expectation is to
use inner shield and needle
cover
Primarily Social Job
Primarily Emotional Job
Primarily Functional Job
Safe Needle &
Strip Disposal
Away From Home Safely Covering
Needle Between
Uses
(needle re-users’ current
expectation is to use inner
shield)
Traveling with
Multiple Pen
Needles
Eliminating
Wet Injections
Ensuring Injection
Site Rotation
(Awareness of relation to
lumps & bruises)
Needle / Pen
Integration
- Supply mgmt.
- Storage/Org
Control of Insulin
Smell
Discreet Injection
Last Dose Event
Tracking
(reminder of having taken
last dose)
Pain-Free
Injection
(needle re-users)
Data
Fragmentation
- BG
- Carbs
- Doses
- Activity
Lack of Positive
Reinforcement
to help patient achieve
health goals
Health Goals &
Lifestyle
Maintenance vs.
Action Disconnect
(especially early stage
patients)
Empathy for
Patients
(HCP, friends, others)
Ease of Data
Recording
- BG
- Carbs
- Doses
- Activity
Fragmented BG
Testing &
Injection
Ecosystem
- Ease of use (steps)
- Portability (parts)
- Storage/Org.
Having to Deal
with Needles
(Mentally representing
advancement of disease)
Pain–Free
BG Testing

18. Product journey maps help to identify & organize key user pain points
Flange is difficult
to clean & dry
Stages of Use
Read manual –
not intuitive
Power vs. tube
connection
confusion
Miss out
diaphragm
Miss out duckbill
valve
Complete
Milk Expression
Setup
Bottles Pump Power
Flange Fit
+ 1st Expression
Pump Control
+ Experimentation
Milk Let Down
+ Experimentation
Refrigerate
Bottles
Cleanup Store for Transit
Can’t see flange
size
No flange / nipple
reference
Poor visibility of
nipple
Difficult to judge
nipple fit
Requires changing
2 dials
Holding bottles +
managing
controls
Rotary dial is
difficult
No mode
indication
Dials are difficult
to operate with
long finger nails
No timer
Limited milk flow
visibility
Holding bottles +
managing
controls.
Requires changing
2 dials
No mode
indication
Limited level
indication
Holding bottles +
managing
controls
Set bottles down
stably
Unplug power
Wipe down (user
& flange)
Disconnect bottle
or diaphragm?
Capping bottles
Lots of loose
parts
Managing tubes &
wires
Carrying multiple
bottles
Dating bottles
Bottle
identification
(shared fridge)
Dishwasher clean
tubes &
diaphragm
Duckbill valve
gets lost or
damaged
Don’t dissemble
parts fully
Lots of loose
parts
Flanges don’t
store easily
Managing tubes &
wires
Wet & dry parts
Manage clean &
dirty parts
Need to keep
expressed milk
cool
User Challenges
Residue in bottle
stand recesses
No visual cycle
indication
Dial settings can
get changed
accidentally
Lots of loose
parts
Managing tubes &
wires
Uncomfortable fit
(hard materials)
Lots of loose
parts
Difficult to fit
flange into
nursing bra
How to hold –
bottle or flange?
How to hold –
bottle or flange?
How to hold –
bottle or flange?
How to hold –
bottle or flange?
Noise isn’t
discrete
Noise isn’t
discrete
Noise isn’t
discrete
Breast Pump Example

19. When brainstorming a new direction for technical problem we believe it helps to:
• Try to define the problem without too many bounding constraints
• Identify requirements & constraints but ease up on the minutiae of technical specifications – these can overwhelm

20. Understanding the IP landscape is often fundamental to framing technical problems

21. Problem Framing
04

22. How you frame the problem influences the breadth of your solutions

23. • Identify a set of observations, research insights or technical challenges
• State each key insight in the form of a short phrase
• Add a ‘starter’ to the beginning of each phrase
• Effective ‘starters’ include:
How might we……………?
In what ways might we…..?
• Don’t embed solutions into problem statements – keep them as open ended as possible
• Spend time discussing & refining your problem statements
• Be provocative

24. Abstract Laddering is a way to reconsider a problem by broadening or narrowing its focus
How might we enable patients to self inject more discreetly

25. Abstract Laddering is a way to reconsider a problem by broadening or narrowing its focus
How might we enable patients to self inject more discreetly

26. Abstract Laddering is a way to reconsider a problem by broadening or narrowing its focus
WHY? In order to:
Help patients self inject away
from home.
WHY ELSE? In order to:
Make injection in public places
more socially acceptable.
HOW? By:
Making pen needle
change easier.
HOW ELSE? By:
By making the fastest
pen needle faster.
How might we enable patients to self inject more discreetly

27. Abstract Laddering is a way to reconsider a problem by broadening or narrowing its focus
How might we help patients self
inject when they are traveling?
In what ways might we reduce the social
stigma of injection pens & needles?
How might we enable pen needle
change blind (no need to look)?
In what ways might we become known for the ‘fastest
pen needle change’ on the market?
How might we enable patients to self inject more discreetly
WHY? In order to:
Help patients self inject away
from home.
WHY ELSE? In order to:
Make injection in public places
more socially acceptable.
HOW? By:
Making pen needle
change easier.
HOW ELSE? By:
By making the fastest
pen needle faster.

28. Session Planning
05

29. For group brainstorming, it’s important to have the right participant personalities
1. Ideally more extrovert
2. Collaborative / build upon the ideas of others
3. Empathetic to users; curious to understand their problems
4. Imaginary / visionary
5. Iterative / experimental / not afraid to fail

30. We also believe it’s essential to involve good visualizers
Preparation Priming Application Smoothing

31. • We favor shorter, consecutive brainstorm
sessions with modest group sizes (4-6).
• Do you have a space where ideas can stay
up for week while ideas get built upon?

32. • Do you have a space where you can
simulate current product frustrations?
• Allow participants to get physical (use /
examine current products & adjacent
fields)

33. We prime brainstorm participants with homework before the first session

34. It is essential to have strong facilitators that are willing to prepare for a session, & that can stimulate &
guide the group
• Both internal & external facilitators should have good understanding of the brainstorm objectives &
problem landscape
• Internal facilitators should be unbiased & encourage the ideas of others (not just their own ideas)
• External facilitators can help drive a fresh perspective on a problem, however they may struggle to
lead brainstorms that are focused on solving very specific technical problems

35. Brainstorm Rules & Tools
06

36. 1. Only be critical if you can describe a better idea (some debate & dissent can help create more original ideas)
2. Be clear & concise when voicing your idea
3. Try not to talk over other participants
4. Describe your idea + key benefit; better if you can visualize it
5. Combine & build upon the ideas of others
6. Wild ideas are welcome
7. Initial sessions focus on quantity of ideas; later sessions will filter for quality

37. 3
Replace
• List current components
• Select a component at random &
replace it with something else (a
component or resource from the
surrounding environment)
• Identify potential resulting
benefits & opportunities
• Brainstorm & adapt ideas that
incorporate the replaced
component while meeting
requirements & constraints
1
Remove
• List current components
• Identify essential components
• Remove one of the essential
components (even one that
seems impossible to be without)
• Identify potential resulting
benefits & opportunities
• Brainstorm & adapt ideas that
overcome the removal while
meeting requirements &
constraints
2
Reorder
• List current components or
process steps
• Randomly reorder of components
or steps (rearranging can be
based on time or location)
• Identify potential resulting
benefits & opportunities
• Brainstorm & adapt ideas that
overcome the reordering while
meeting requirements &
constraints
4
Relationship
• Make 2 lists
1. Current product attributes
2. Current product environment
or usage attributes
• Make an arbitrary link between
an attribute in each list
• Identify potential resulting
benefits & opportunities
• Brainstorm & adapt ideas
triggered by these new
relationships while meeting
requirements & constraints
When ideas start to dry up, try a different perspective

38. Simultaneous brainstorming across different locations is challenging but remote idea sharing & building can be more effective with these tools
Realtime Board
Very simple, web-based application that hosts ideas (images, words,
etc.) then allows you to organize, scale, modify, add notes & share live
across different sites.
www.realtimeboard.com
Smart Interactive White Board
Digital whiteboards in various sizes & formats for simultaneous idea
sharing across different sites. Can integrate with Microsoft
applications.
www.smartkapp.com

39. Summary
07

40. 3
Session Planning
• Invite the right participant
personalities
• Shorter, consecutive sessions with
6-8 participants
• Refinement / filtering session
with 2-3 participants
• Prime participants with
background homework & have
them bring 2-3 initial kickoff ideas
(helps warm-up)
• Create a stimulating brainstorm
space where ideas can remain in
place during brainstorms
1
Problem Identification
• Having the right problem focus is
key
• Catalysts can derive from the pull
of user research insights
• They can also derive from the
push of technical challenges, IP
avoidance & the opportunities of
a new technology
2
Problem Framing
• Identify a set of observations,
research insights or technical
challenges
• Add a ‘starter’ to the beginning of
each phrase
E.g. How might we…?
• Keep problem statements as open
ended as possible
• Consider ‘Abstract Laddering’ to
broaden or narrow the problem
focus
4
Brainstorm Rules
• Only be critical if you can describe
a better idea
• Be clear & concise when voicing
your idea
• Try not to talk over other
participants
• Describe your idea + key benefit;
better if you can visualize it
• Combine & build upon the ideas
of others
• Wild ideas are welcome
• Initial sessions focus on quantity
of ideas; later sessions will filter
for quality
• Try some brainstorm tools if ideas
start to dry up

41. We’re always up for a good challenge.
Contact: Chris Murray
cmurray@Bresslergroup.com
Tel. 215.320.1417
QUESTIONS