[ PARSONS INTEGRATIVE STUDIO 1 - WEEK 10 REFLECTION ]
With the growing popularity of design thinking process, the word brainstorming has been throwing around so much to a point that that it doesn't really mean anything anymore. It has become a buzzword. For this reason, people tend to downplay the existence of brainstorming.
This week, my team took the key insights from our research stage and moved into the ideation phase. With a background in product design, brainstorming is no stranger to me, at least I thought so. I was excited to start designing and coming up with new solutions for our project. After a few hours of long discussion and a few attempts to brainstorm, I finally realized the most important key to a successful brainstorming activity is to have the right frame. At most brainstorming sessions I have experienced, either somebody else had already decided on what topic to focus on and using what methods with what rules, or, with no framework at all.
Figuring out the right framework is the first step to take for a successful brainstorming session. We ended up using the time we have left in the meeting planning for our next brainstorming meeting. Though we are still learning the best practices of brainstorming, here are a few takeaways I got from this weeks work.
- There is no one-method-fit-all brainstorming bible out there. Each session should be planned differently according to the goal or opportunity areas of the design project.
- This stage of the design process would get messy again like the beginning of the research phase.
- When in doubts or uncertain, do a test trial and modify the framework accordingly.
- Spend enough time on planning the activity - it's worth it. It's like a mini design process within a big design journey.
Quote of the week
"IT IS FAR BETTER TO DO THE RIGHT THING WRONG THAN TO DO THE WRONG THING RIGHT."
-Russell L. Ackoff