ThinkSpace

The Method for Generating Ideas
What exactly needs to be done in order to generate an idea? Here, we describe a method that works well for that task.

1. Gather data that will serve as the basis for the idea.

Putting the idea’s existing components together is the work at hand. Ideas can’t just appear out of nowhere. It is important to gather a variety of current components that will serve as the foundation for any new ideas before you come up with them.

This information will include both basic knowledge and information from other subjects outside of your speciality as well as specific knowledge and information from fields in which you are actively engaged.

Tools include literature, the media, one’s own life experiences, observation, and client feedback.

2. Freely develop concepts (creating ideas)

It is now producing a significant number of ideas based on the input data. The evaluation of ideas should be delayed, and many ideas should be submitted first.

Consider how your mind functions at this point as more like lines radiating outward like spokes of a wheel rather than as one continuous line.

Tools include a mandala chart, sticky notes, and thought maps.

3. Create a practical plan to implement those ideas.

Make a short list of the most promising ideas from the many that were generated in the previous stage.

You can transform an abstract idea into a precise, workable plan by adding the necessary specifics.

Tools: Business Model Canvas, 5W1H format, etc.

Simple Use

Although there are several uses for this software, we will start by describing the one that is most advised.

I believe that everyone has had success coming up with fresh ideas while writing.

This tool is ideal for keeping your ideas organized while writing in a free-form manner.

Simple flow

1. Start by writing down your thoughts on the card in an appropriate format.

2. Arrange the cards by branching them out or putting them in groups.

3. If you think of anything while traveling, rewrite it on the card and place it.

4. You can jot your ideas down without restriction and progressively organize them.

BrainStorming

One of the traditional approaches for generating ideas is brainstorming. This method, developed by A. Osbourne, is helpful when you need to create a lot of ideas early in the planning process. It’s time to make a choice and submit numerous ideas with a focus on responsiveness and adaptability. You can generate new ideas based on current elements by writing anything that comes to mind and placing it on the canvas. You can generate a lot of ideas by combining cards to form new concepts or by creating related thoughts from one specific card around as in an associative game.

Simple flow

1. Clearly define the issue you want to fix.

2. On cards, write down words that could serve as hints, then arrange them on the canvas.

3. Write the concept that was inspired by the term on the card and distribute it.

4. Survey the overall situation and generate ideas.

5. If you get a fresh thought based on a card, write it down and attach it to a card.

6. Go over the stages again and come up with radiation-related concepts. The arrow in the illustration represents the direction of thought.

You may quickly generate ideas by taking the input data from your thoughts, writing it on a card, and placing it on the canvas. Each concept is printed on the card, but only the concept and the essential information must be written there; formal phrases are not necessary. It might be a visual. And free exchange of ideas depends on handwriting.

On an unlimited canvas, you can manually develop concepts using the card tool.

Brain Map

The mind map is a technique for expanding thoughts and organizing them hierarchically. It develops ideas radially like trees.

Simple flow

1. Center the topic you wish to think about.

2. From there, extend the branches and fill them with the concepts and terms that sprang to mind quickly.

3. Include more interesting suggestions I’ll make a new branch if someone has an entirely new idea.

4. Moving a branch or changing a node will organize the entire structure and help you comprehend it better.

A broader canvas is needed for the mind map due to its nature, yet it is a fantastic tool for organizing and widening ideas—not necessarily for classifying them nicely. It would be preferable for elements to move freely as well. You may quickly create a mind map on an infinite canvas with the relations tool.

KJ Approach

The kj approach combines a lot of disparate thoughts and facts, extracts the essence and big picture of the issue, and determines the direction of the solution concept from a cause analysis to an idea issue broadly.

Simple flow

1. Choose a theme.

2. Add your thoughts and the information you have gathered to cards.

3. Combine cards with a lot of affinity.

4. Provide the group with a title and a summary of its contents.

5. Carry on in the same manner, but with the group hierarchy elevated.

6. Show connections between groupings according to their relationships.

7. Document your main findings using the example as a starting point.

Hints:

Finding new connections between pieces of knowledge and organizing them using creative methods will result in new ideas.

You may organise and organize your ideas with the aid of grouping tools.