Lecture given by Mark Billinghurst on Ideation Technique for the HITD 201 Design Thinking course. The lecture was given on December 16th 2013. The key things covered are Ideation Techniques from the book Idea Stormers, and how to use the formal method of TRIX for inventive problem solving.

1. HITD 201
Ideation Revisited
Mark Billinghurst
HIT Lab NZ
December 16th 2013

2. Design Thinking Process
5 modes iterated through

4. Ideation Methods

5. Brainstorming
 Best with interdisciplinary team

6. 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

7. 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?

8. 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

9. Idea Storming
 Idea Stormers book
 Bryan Mattimore techniques
 Case studies
 Practical advice

10. Book Content

11. Seven Creative Mindsets
 Curiosity – always asking Why?
 Openness – non judgmental
 Embracing Ambiguity – two ideas at same time
 Finding and Transferring Principles – look to
other fields
 Search for Integrity – connecting elements
 Knowingness – knowing there is a solution
 World Creating – imaging new possibilities

12. The 7 Greatest Ideation Techniques
 Questioning assumptions
 Opportunity redefinition
 Wishing
 Triggered brainwalking
 Semantic intuition
 Picture prompts
 Worst idea

13. Questioning assumptions
 Challenge engrained beliefs/practices
 Process
 Decide how you want to frame your creative
challenge
 Generate 20 or 30 assumptions you might be
making about challenge
 Pick several assumptions and use them as thought
starters and creative triggers

14. Example: Mentadent (Gary Fraser)
 Launched in 1993 – first baking soda and
peroxide toothpaste
 Against Colgate and Crest
 Assumptions questioned
 Consumers won’t pay more
 Consumers won’t buy refills
 Need to dispense toothpaste in tube
 Needed endorsement of dentists

15. Opportunity redefinition
 Start with opportunity statement
 Identify key words
 Generate creative alternatives for words
 Mix alternatives together to create
combination sentences
 Use combination sentences as brainstorming
triggers

16. Example Catholic Insurance
 How can we sell more insurance to Catholics?
 Keywords: We, Sell, Catholics
 We alternatives
 Sales force, clergy, friends of Catholics, etc
 Sell alternatives
 License, give away, test-run, promote, etc
 Catholics alternatives
 Catholic doctors, Catholic schools, etc

17. Alternative Table
We
Sales force
The clergy
Friend of Catholics
Churchgoers
Family members
Sell
License
Give away
Promote
Advertise
Telemarket
Catholics
Catholic Doctors
Catholic Athletes
Catholic Students
Catholic Schools
Catholic Donators
Example: How can we get Family Members to
Give Away life insurance to Catholic Schools?

18. Wishing
 Begin assuming anything is possible
 Money, energy, time, etc are unlimited
 Generate 20 – 30 wishes
 Use wishes as creative stimuli to generate
novel but realistic ideas
 Consider wishing from different perspectives
 Role-playing wishing, target market wishing

19. Triggered Brainwalking
 Paste a piece of paper on the wall for each
person in the group – use trigger terms
 Each person goes to a piece of paper and
writes down an initial idea
 Then rotate to the next paper, builds on the
existing idea or uses it to stimulate new idea
 Keep on going for several rounds until back to
beginning and person can select best ideas

20. Example: Lipstick Product
 Triggered with four prompts
 Target market wishes
 Category reframes (lip reshaping, lip firming, etc)
 Benefit-oriented: lip massaging, freshening, etc
 The worst idea technique

21. Benefits
 Physical engagement
 Ideas are public, shared ideation
 People inspired by other ideas

22. Semantic Intuition
 Combine several categories of key words to
create a name for a new idea
 Process
 Create 3 categories of words related to challenge
 Generate variations in each category
 Randomly combine one word from each category
 Brainstorm around result

23. Example: Detergent Promotion
Places in Store
Promotions
Benefits/Interests
Aisle
Gift with purchase
Clean clothes
Parking Lot
Buy one get one free
Getting stains out
Bakery
Floor stands
Fresh smelling
Frozen Foods
Redeemable Coupon
Family dinners
Pharmacy
Register Coupon
Baseball games
Flower Shop
Shelf talkers
Disney world
Trigger: Bakery, Gift with Purchase, and Clean Clothes
Idea: Cookies + Detergent promotion. Buy detergent and get
free cookie dough mixture. Eat a cookie while doing washing
and enjoy the smell of clean clothes and fresh baking

24. Picture Prompts
 Select pictures related to problem
 Pass out picture prompts
 Ask for ideas inspired by the visuals
 Share thoughts with partner and brainstorm
together
“Imagine the answer is contained in one of these
pictures. See if you can find it?”

25. Improved Delegation

26. Worst Idea
 Create list of worst ideas
 Keep going to generate worse and worse ideas
 Use list of bad ideas to inspire a good idea
 Eg: Banking services
 We could round down everyone’s deposits
 Bank of America “Keep the Change”

28. TRIZ – Formalized Problem Solving
 ‘Teoriya Resheniya Izobreatatelskikh Zadatch’
 Theory of Inventive Problem Solving
 Developed by Genrich Altshuller (1940’s)
 Working in Soviet Navy patent dept.
 Analyzed over 200,000 patents
 Developed innovation theory

29. Most Problems Already Solved
Levels of Inventiveness, Level 4 and 5 truly innovative
 Altshuller screened over 200,000 patents
 Over 90% problems has been solved before

30. Levels of Solution
 Level #1 are simple improvement of a technical system using
knowledge available within a relevant industry.
 Level #2 inventions include the resolution of a technical
contradiction using knowledge from different areas
 Level #3 is an invention containing a resolution of a physical
contradiction using knowledge from other industries.
 Level #4 is development a new technology. It is developed
by using breakthrough solutions that requires knowledge
from different fields of science.
 Level #5 involves the discovery of new phenomena that
pushes the existing technology to a higher level.

31. Key Findings
 Problems and solutions are repeated across industries
and sciences.
 By classifying the "contradictions” in each problem, you
can predict good creative solutions to that problem.
 Patterns of technical evolution tend to be repeated
across industries and sciences.
 Creative innovations often use scientific effects outside
the field where they were developed.

32. Example: Drink Can Stacking
 Want to stack drink cans for storage
 We have no control over how high cans will be
stacked
 Contradiction
 Can walls should be thinner to reduce costs
 Can walls should be thicker to support weight

33. Types of Contradictions
 Eliminate contradictions to solve problems
 Two types of contradictions
 Technical – classic engineering trade-offs.
- The product gets stronger (good), but the weight increases (bad).
- Training is comprehensive (good), but keeps employees away from
their assignments (bad).
 Physical – inherent contradictions (laws of physics)
- Coffee should be hot for enjoyable drinking, but cold to prevent
burning the customer.
- Training should take a long time (to be thorough), but not take
any time.

34. General Problem Solving Model

35. Applying TRIZ process
1. Identify my problem
2. Formulate the problem
Identify contradictions
3. Search for previously solved problem
Using TRIZ tools
4. Look for analogous solution and adapt
to my solution

36. Key TRIZ Tools
 Engineering Parameters (Formulate problem)
 39 standard technical characteristics that cause
conflict
 Inventive Principles (Previous Solutions)
 40 solution hints that will guide towards an
innovative solution

37. Engineering Parameters
1. Weight of moving object
2. Weight of nonmoving object
3. Length of moving object
4. Length of nonmoving object
5. Area of moving object
6. Area of nonmoving object
7. Volume of moving object
8. Volume of nonmoving object
9. Speed
10. Force
11. Tension, pressure
11. Shape
12. Stability of object
13. Strength
14. Durability of moving object
15. Durability of nonmoving object
16. Temperature
17. Brightness
18. Energy spent by moving object
19. Energy spent by nonmoving
object
20. Power

38. Inventive Principles
1. Segmentation
Divide an object into independent parts
Make an object sectional
14. Spheroidality
Use rollers, balls spirals
Replace linear parts or flat surfaces with curved ones
35. Transformation of physical and chemical states
Change an object's aggregate state

39. Table of Contradictions

40. Table of Contradictions

41. Example: Can Stacking
 Principle 1: Increase Segmentation
 Change wall from smooth to wavy
 Principle 14: Spheroidality
 Use curved can tops
 Principle 35: Transformation
 Use stronger alloy composition

42. Example - Segmentation
Divide an object into independent parts or make sectional
 Problem: Long antennas are necessary for radio transmission but can
be broken when the car goes into a low-clearance garage
 Solution: Construct antenna from cylindrical metal beads strung on a
wire. When the beads are loosened they can be compactly stored.
When the wire is tightened, the beads form a long, flexible antenna.

43. Example - Inversion
Doing something opposite to what is
currently being done.
 Problem: Cattle are usually branded using
hot irons - - a painful procedure that
causes wounds prone to infection.
 Solution: Irons cooled to liquid-nitrogen
temperature can be used. These irons do
not wound the animals, but instead
permanently discolor the hair at the
branding spot.

44. Example – Prior Action
Performing a required action beforehand or prior
placement of an object so that it can be used without delay.
 Problem: Cattle feed consists of various cut grasses which are
mixed using special equipment. Producing the grass mixture by
sowing the various grasses together yields a crop difficult to till.
 Solution: If the grasses are sown in narrow parallel strips and
harvested across the strips, they will be mixed in the receiving bin
of the harvester.

45. Assignment Five
ASSIGNMENT 1. Try applying one or more of the three innovation
principles of Segmentation, Inversion and Prior Action to the following:
Problem 1. Removing layers of insulation
Certain metallic surfaces must be coated with a thick layer of insulating material.
Removing this coating later is difficult, however. How might this be accomplished?
Problem 2. Unloading frozen material
Unloading loose, frozen material by first defrosting it can be an expensive procedure.
What other method would you recommend?
Problem 3. Bullet-proof windows
Initially, bullet-proof glass windows used on fighter aircraft had a serious defect: When a
bullet hit the window, a "network" of cracks would form in the glass and obstruct the
pilot’s vision. How might this damage be reduced?

46. More resources
 Technical Innovations Centre – TRIZ training
 http://www.triz.org
 TRIZ Journal
 http://www.triz-journal.com
 Ideation International Inc
 http://www.ideationtriz.com/