What is Ideation?
Ideation is the structured process of generating ideas to solve a specific, validated user problem. It sits between problem discovery and solution specification. The output is a set of potential approaches that the team can evaluate, prototype, and test.
Good ideation is divergent: it generates many different ideas without judging them. Evaluation comes later. The goal is to expand the solution space before narrowing it.
Why Ideation Matters
Teams that skip ideation build the first solution they think of. The first idea is rarely the best idea. It is just the most obvious one. Structured ideation surfaces non-obvious approaches that often outperform the default.
Ideation also builds team ownership. When engineers, designers, and PMs co-create solutions, they are more invested in the outcome than when the PM hands down a pre-baked spec.
How to Run an Ideation Session
Set the problem, not the solution. Frame the session around the user problem: "How might we help new users find relevant content in their first session?" Do not say "Let's design a recommendation engine." The framing determines the solution space.
Use structured techniques. "How Might We" questions generate opportunity areas. Crazy 8s (sketch 8 ideas in 8 minutes) produces rapid visual concepts. Mind mapping explores connections between ideas. SCAMPER (Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to use, Eliminate, Reverse) pushes thinking beyond the obvious.
Separate generation from evaluation. Spend the first half generating ideas without critique. Spend the second half clustering, discussing, and selecting the most promising concepts for prototyping.
Include diverse perspectives. The best ideation sessions include PM, design, engineering, and at least one person outside the immediate team (support, sales, or a user). Different viewpoints produce different ideas.
Ideation in Practice
Google's design sprints allocate a full day to ideation. Participants sketch solutions individually (avoiding groupthink), then present and vote. The winning concepts get prototyped and tested with users within the same week.
IDEO's ideation sessions produce hundreds of ideas through structured brainstorming with strict rules: defer judgment, encourage wild ideas, build on others' ideas, and go for quantity. They physically post all ideas on walls to create visual stimulus.
Common Pitfalls
- Ideating without a clear problem. "Let's brainstorm new features" produces unfocused output. Start with a specific, validated problem.
- Judging too early. "That won't work because..." kills creativity. Save evaluation for after generation.
- One person dominates. Use silent brainstorming techniques to ensure introverts contribute equally.
- Stopping at one idea. If the session produces one idea everyone agrees on, you did not diverge enough. Push for at least 10 before converging.
Related Concepts
Ideation is a core phase of design thinking and design sprints. It feeds into the opportunity solution tree by generating solution options for identified opportunities. Results from ideation flow into prototyping and product discovery.