This article looks at innovation methodologies used by the SAP Design and Co Innovation Centre which are utilised to get clients involved in brainstorming and the design process. There are five methods suggested:
Brainstorming: The Walt Disney Method
This method utilises role play based not three facets of Disney’s personality, ‘the dreamer’, ‘the realist’ and ‘the spoiler’ in the exercise each role is used to work through the concept, to consider what is possible (dreamer), then to consider how to do it (realist) and what could go wrong (spoiler).
Empathy Mapping
An empathy map is a way to cluster results based on thoughts feelings pain and gains. Starting with a white board or large piece of paper with a head and five sections what the character sees, hears, things, feels and is challenged by. Here’s a more detailed description and the online game.
Belbin Characters
Dr. Meredith Belbin found that when groups work together, there is always a set of nine characters: and each of them is essential for getting the group successfully from start to finish. This is a problem solving exercise that shows how you need all the roles in the team to get the best result, it often results with creative thinking and innovation.
Remember the Future
Think about what the perfect product evolves into and don’t have any limitations, get the team to write down and describe their view of the possible future, working back from the future to now.
A Day in the Life
Mapping a day in the life illustrates how individuals use time and how it is assigned to different activities, when you capture it and map it out it helps to identify obvious and potential problems.
“Tell me and I forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I will learn.”
attributed in the article to Benjamin Franklin but actually by Xun Kuang a Chinese Confucius Philosopher 312 BC
Synopsis of an article from UX Magazine by Ann-Sofie Ruf
Published 17th August 2015
The full article can be found here: https://uxmag.com/articles/5-methods-for-innovation-you-should-try-with-your-team