How do you overcome product innovation blocks with ideation tools?

1 Why use ideation tools?

Ideation tools are not just random exercises or games. They are based on research and best practices that can help you enhance your creative thinking, overcome cognitive biases, and generate diverse and novel solutions. Ideation tools can also help you structure your innovation process, collaborate with your team, and communicate your ideas to stakeholders. By using ideation tools, you can avoid getting stuck in a rut, wasting time and money on unviable products, or missing out on opportunities.

3 How to choose the right ideation tool?

When choosing an ideation tool, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. The right tool depends on your innovation goal, stage, and context. You should take into account the type and scope of the problem, the amount and quality of information you have about the customer, the size and diversity of your team, the time and resources you have available for ideation, as well as the expected outcome and deliverable of your ideation session. Additionally, flexibility and adaptability are key - be prepared to switch or combine tools as needed. For instance, you may start with a divergent tool to generate ideas, then use a convergent tool to select the most promising ones, then use a lateral tool to add some novelty or uniqueness, before finally using an integrative tool to refine and improve them.

4 How to use ideation tools effectively?

Using ideation tools effectively requires more than just following instructions or steps. To maximize your ideation performance and experience, you should set a clear and specific goal and scope for your ideation session and communicate it to your team and stakeholders. Research the problem and customer beforehand, and use data, insights, and feedback to inform your ideas. Invite diverse people to the ideation session, create a conducive environment, follow the rules of the tool but be open to modifications, balance quantity and quality of ideas, document and organize them, and evaluate and iterate them with feedback, testing, and prototyping.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?