Ideation is the

creative Creative may refer to: *Creativity, phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is created * "Creative" (song), a 2008 song by Leon Jackson * Creative class, a proposed socioeconomic class * Creative destruction, an economic term * Creative dir ...

process of generating, developing, and communicating new ideas, where an idea is understood as a basic element of thought that can be either visual, concrete, or abstract. Ideation comprises all stages of a thought cycle, from innovation, to development, to actualization. Ideation can be conducted by individuals, organizations, or crowds. As such, it is an essential part of the design process, both in education and practice.

Criticism

The word "ideation" has come under informal criticism as being a term of meaningless jargon, as well as being inappropriately similar to the

psychiatric Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of mental disorders. These include various maladaptations related to mood, behaviour, cognition, and perceptions. See glossary of psychiatry. Initial psychi ...

term for suicidal ideation.

Methods and approaches

There are many methods and approaches for ideation. A list of common ideation techniques is as follows: *

Brainstorming Brainstorming is a group creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members. In other words, brainstorming is a situation where a grou ...

: A popular technique, where the basic premise is to get a group together and have them share their ideas freely, without judgement. The goal is to generate as many ideas as possible, regardless of whether they are good or bad. Once the brainstorming session is over, the group can evaluate the ideas and narrow them down to the best ones. Brainstorming can be an effective way to generate new ideas, especially when the group has a diverse range of perspectives. However, creating a safe and welcoming environment where all voices are heard is essential. Otherwise, the brainstorming session may not be very productive. *

Idea mapping A mind map is a diagram used to visually organize information into a hierarchy, showing relationships among pieces of the whole. It is often created around a single concept, drawn as an image in the center of a blank page, to which associated r ...

: This process begins with brainstorming a central idea and then developing said idea by adding related concepts and details. The result is a map or diagram that visually captures the relationships between ideas. This technique can be used individually and in groups, and it is an effective way to generate a large volume of ideas quickly. Idea mapping is often used in business, engineering, and design, where creativity is essential for success. *

Reverse brainstorming Reverse or reversing may refer to: Arts and media * ''Reverse'' (Eldritch album), 2001 * ''Reverse'' (2009 film), a Polish comedy-drama film * ''Reverse'' (2019 film), an Iranian crime-drama film * ''Reverse'' (Morandi album), 2005 * ''Reverse'' ...

: A contrasting alternative to other, better-known ideation methods, reverse brainstorming takes advantage of a person or group's ability to better recognize problems than practical solutions by, as its name suggests, reversing the question that a brainstorming session revolves around. For example, instead of asking how a hurdle could be overcome, one could ask what could jeopardize that goal. *

SCAMPER SCAMPER is an acronym that provides a structured way of assisting students to think out of the box and enhance their knowledge. It is thought to protect students' creativity as they mature. History SCAMPER was proposed by Alex Faickney Osbo ...

: SCAMPER is an acronym for the seven different aspects of ideation around which this idea revolves: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to other uses, Eliminate, and Reverse. By considering each of these elements, in turn, it is possible to develop new ways to approach a problem or challenge and obtain a wide range of ideas suitable for further development. * The 5 Whys technique: The 5 Whys technique is a simple yet powerful tool for driving to the root cause of a problem. The basis of the technique is to ask "why" five times to identify the primary causal factor behind a particular issue. It is suitable for a range of problem complexities and is often used in conjunction with other root cause analysis tools, such as fishbone diagrams and cause-and-effect tables. Although it may seem simplistic, the 5 Whys can be an invaluable tool for uncovering hidden problems and generating new ideas. *

Pugh matrix Pugh is a surname, of Welsh (''ap Huw'' means "son of Hugh" in Welsh) or Irish origin and may refer to: * Alf Pugh (1869–1942), Wales international football goalkeeper * Alun Pugh (born 1955), former Labour Welsh Assembly Government Minister fo ...

: * Morphological analysis * 6 thinking hats * The method of loci *

Bodystorming Bodystorming is a technique sometimes used in interaction design or as a creativity technique. It has also been cited as catalyzing scientific research when used as a modeling tool. The idea is to imagine what it would be like if the product exist ...

: Bodystorming is a creative process that involves using the body to simulate various actions and explore different solutions to a problem. The term was coined by Gijs van Wulfen, who developed the process as a way to overcome the limits of traditional brainstorming. With bodystorming, participants are encouraged to physically act out possible solutions to a problem, allowing for a more immersive and realistic exploration of potential solutions. The process can be used alone or in groups, and is often used in conjunction with other ideation techniques such as

role-playing Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to Acting, act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-pl ...

and

mind mapping A mind map is a diagram used to visually organize information into a hierarchy, showing relationships among pieces of the whole. It is often created around a single concept, drawn as an image in the center of a blank page, to which associated r ...

. Bodystorming is an effective way to generate new ideas, and has been used in a variety of fields including product design, architecture, and

marketing Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to empha ...

. *

Brainwriting 6-3-5 Brainwriting (or 635 Method, Method 635) is a group-structured brainstorming technique aimed at aiding innovation processes by stimulating creativity developed by Bernd Rohrbach who originally published it in a German sales magazine, the Absa ...

Criticism

Methods and approaches

See also

References

Further reading