Techniques for Idea Generation

Techniquesfor Idea Generation

Questionone

Thearticle presented by Lopez-Mesa describes divergent methods ofgenerating new ideas as the techniques where the problem solvergathers information to help in solving the issue at hand. They mustlook beyond their cognitive resources and gather sufficientinformation before they move to the convergent operation stage whichinvolves the determination of the appropriate solution to pursuebased on the informed knowledge they already have. According to LopezMesa, divergent methods can be classified as either highly adaptiveor innovative. Methods promoting the development of new ideas ofdifferent kinds are considered innovative while those that focus onenhancing a single idea are considered adaptive. The idea presentedin the article is congruent to the Kirton’s theory about divergentmethod or operation however, there is a slight deviation from theKirton’s theory at the point where Lopez states that peoplepreferring to make a continuous improvement within are referred asadaptors while innovators produce new and unexpected solutions. Theguidelines and methods in the article are well presented andpractical to memorize when confronted with a problem required varioustechniques. Most of the Lopez-Mesa’s article focus on thesignificance of selecting appropriate method based on the availabletime and market demands. The chart presented on page 4 seems accurateand practical in my opinion.

Questiontwo

Rankthe five techniques

TheSuperheroes technique is more of innovative because it encourages thepushing of the boundaries by recruiting the participants’ think ofideas and solutions based on make believe characteristics. Theapproach makes people think outside the box and solutions are madefrom any paradigm since the known laws of reality are explicitlydisregarded.

Theclassic brainstorming is open to more innovative ideas though, it isbased on the concept of ‘the better defined…., the better thesession.’ The main purpose of the brainstorming sessions is todevelop large quantities of ideas which are combined, and the wayforward suggested. All members are encouraged to give their ideasduring the sessions however, it requires some definitions to attainbetter results.

Brainwritingis similar to brainstorming however, it involves the use of previousperson’s idea to trigger new ideas among the members. In this case,the problems are agreed upon at the beginning and solutions developedfor that time. The approach allows the development of solutions thatare likely to be within the existing paradigm.

Attributelisting process analyzes the specific details in a given paradigm andincrementing change it for improvement. Various aspects of theproblem are selected and means of achieving each part in a novel waydetermined. The process is more structures and thus consideredadaptive. Changing of the various aspects of the existing ideas mayproduce a new idea though similar to the already stated ones.

FishboneDiagram approach encourages the development of the objective andin-depth representation of the existing issue but discouragespremature solutions. The main goal of this approach is getting to thecore problem. The solutions to the problems are determined afterin-depth analysis of the all possible problems. The approach producesmore adaptive solutions because the larger problem is narrowed downto subcategories and then solutions suggested.

Questionthree

Thefollowing techniques are organized in the order starting with themost innovative to the most adaptive.

• Superheroes

• Classic brainstorming

• Brainwriting

• Attribute listing

• Fishbone diagram