My slides from the Agile Midwest 2017 conference. This talk / workshop was on how randomness and play fuel innovation

1. Random Play
RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
Using Randomness & Play to Fuel Innovation

2. @etaymor
Emerson Taymor
emerson@philosophie.is
RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
@gophilosophie

3. What are we going to learn?
RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie

4. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
How to get more innovative ideas
Diverge / Converge pitfalls
Design Thinking 101

5. Design Thinking
RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie

6. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie

7. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
Design thinking is a
user-centered approach
to problem solving.

8. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
More about
doing than it is
about thinking

9. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
Desirability
(HUMAN)
Feasibility
(TECHNICAL)
Viability
(BUSINESS)
Innovation
Design
Thinking

10. Design Thinking
RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie

11. Double Design Pattern
RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
Discover Define Design DeliverDevelop
DIVERGE CONVERGE DIVERGE CONVERGE

12. Design Thinking
RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
Empathize Define Ideate TestPrototype
DIVERGE CONVERGE DIVERGE CONVERGE DIVERGE

13. Divergent Thinking
RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie

14. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
Our ideas are based on our
own mental models and
past experiences.

15. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie

16. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
Integrative Complexity

17. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
To be successful we must
live from our imaginations,
not from our memories.
–Steven Covey

18. Sparking Creativity
RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie

19. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
The right people in the
same room

20. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
You can discover more about a
person in an hour of play than in
a year of conversation
–Plato

21. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
The creation of something new
is not accomplished by the
intellect, but by the play instinct
–Carl Jung

22. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
Serious play is not an oxymoron;
it is the essence of innovation.
–Michael Schrage

23. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie

24. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
By bringing playfulness to our
workplace we are able to
open up our mind to truly
innovative ideas

25. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie

26. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie

27. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
Increase chances of serendipity
Don’t be afraid to play
Right people in the room

28. Sketching
RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie

29. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
I prefer drawing to talking.
Drawing is faster and leaves
less room for lies.
–Le Corbusier

30. Sketching helps us
• Get ideas out of our heads
• Build a shared language
• Explore options quickly
• Get everyone involved
• Gives a sense of ownership
RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie

31. Good news
• Everyone can sketch
• A sketch can look terrible and still be effective
RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie

32. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie

33. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie

34. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie

35. Design Studios
RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie

36. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
Design Studios are
structured, fast-paced,
collaborative workshops

37. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie

38. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
It is crazy because we are
going to sketch 8 different
ideas in 8 minutes

39. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
Generate as many ideas as
possible within a short
amount of time, focusing on
quantity not quality.

40. Why?
• Fosters creativity
• Invites diverse opinions
• Generates dozens of ideas quickly
• Engages stakeholders - it’s fun!
• Speed helps people not overthink
RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie

41. How Might We solve
Twitter’s bullying bot
problem using design?
RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie

42. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie

43. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie

44. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
If we don’t take time to play,
we face a joyless life of
rigidity, lacking in creativity.
The opposite of play isn’t
work, but depression.
– Stuart Brown and Christopher Vaughan

45. RANDOM PLAY AGILE MIDWEST
@gophilosophie
Thank You!
emerson@philosophie.is
@etaymor