Idea Generation and problem

solving
Presented By
Taruna Ladhani
Neethu Nair
Idea generation
• Idea generation is the creative process
of generating, developing, and
communicating new ideas, where
an idea is understood as a basic element
of thought that can be either visual,
concrete, or abstract.
• It is generation of entirely new
concept/product/service offered to the
consumer, shareholder and employee.
Sources of idea generation
• Consumers ( Freecharge.in)
• Existing products and services(jumbo king, meru)
• Research and development (ipad, nano)
• Employees (electric car)
• Dealers or retailers (vending machine of coke)
 Methods of idea generation
• Focus group – Groups of individuls providing information
in a structured format

Eg : Irene Greif ran focus groups to assess a version

management facility for Lotus 1-2-3. The new features
were presented to the focus group as a way to let multiple
users compare alternative views of a spreadsheet across
computer networks Initially, group members were
skeptical about these ideas and expressed distrust in
networks and nervousness about what other people
would do to their spreadsheets. After seeing a prototype
and scenarios of version management in use, participants
moved from skepticism to enthusiasm.
Cont……
• Brainstorming - A group method for obtaining new
ideas and solutions.
• 4 rules have to be follwed
• No criticism , no negative comments.
• Freewheeling is encouraged
• Quantity of ideas is desired
• Ideas of others can be used to produce still new
another ideas
Cont….

• Example : Most people found the elevators at

Trump towers slower than other places they
have been.
• The property maintenance team investigated
the issue and found that there was no
significant difference in speed of the elevator
from the ones elsewhere.
• However, the complaints never seemed to
stop. With every new complaint; the tolerance
level of the Trump Corporate house reduced
and a quick resolution was ordered.
Cont…..
• The team presented their findings to the
corporate house claiming the speed of
the elevators were on par with the ones
in any building in the Manhattan suburb.
• In-fact the elevators were of the same
make as the ones in other A grade
buildings.
• One of the engineers decided to call for
a brain storming session to find a
solution.
Cont……
• He invited members from all departments to attend
the brain storming session.
• They were 12 of them
• The session went on for long hours and the solution
seemed to elude them.
• After a period of 20 hours one the interior designer
among came up with with a radical thought to have
mirrors fitted into all the lifts.
• The lifts in the Trump Towers had no mirrors and had
a wooden interior.
Cont….
• Most people find it difficult to talk in a
elevator and hence are left with no choice but
wait for the elevator to reach their destined
floor.
• However; with a mirror in the elevator; it
leaves people with something to do.
• This idea was based on a simple logic, but it
certainly worked for Trump Towers.
Cont…..

• Problem Inventory Analysis - A method

for obtaining new ideas and solutions by
focusing on problems.
• Here, instead generating the idea
themselves , consumers are provided
with a list of problems in general
product category.
• it is easier to relate a known product to
suggested problems and arrive at a new
product idea.
Creative problem Solving methods
• Reverse brainstorming – A group method for
obtaining new ideas focusing on the negative aspects
of a product , service or idea.
• Eg : Luciana is the manager of a health clinic and
she has the task of improving patient satisfaction.
• There have been various improvement initiatives in
the past and the team members have become rather
skeptical about another meeting on the subject. The
team is overworked, team members are "trying their
best" and there is no appetite to "waste time" talking
about this.
Cont…..

• So she decides to use some creative

problem solving techniques she has
learned. This, she hopes, will make the
team meeting more interesting and
engage people in a new way.
• Perhaps it will reveal something more
than the usual "good ideas" that no one
has time to act on.
• To prepare for the team meeting, Luciana
thinks carefully about the problem and
writes down the problem statement:
Cont……
• "How do we improve patient satisfaction?"
Then she reverses problem statement:
• "How do we make patients more dissatisfied?“
• Already she starts to see how the new angle could
reveal some surprising results.
• At the team meeting, everyone gets involved in an
enjoyable and productive reverse brainstorming
session. They draw on both their work experience
with patients and also their personal experience of
being patients and customers of other organizations.
Cont…..

• When the brainstorming session runs

dry, the team has a long list of the
"reverse" solutions. Now it's time to
look at each one in reverse into a
potential solution. Well resulting
discussions are quite revealing.
For example:
• "Well of course we don't leave patients
outside in the car park – we already
don't do that."
Cont…..
• Luciana helps ideas flow freely, ensuring people to
not pass judgment on even the most unlikely
suggestions.
Here are just a few of the "reverse" ideas:
• Double book appointments.
• Remove the chairs from the waiting room.
• Put patients who phone on hold (and forget about
them).
• Have patients wait outside in the car park.
• Discuss patient's problems in public.
Cont…..

• When the brainstorming session runs

dry, the team has a long list of the
"reverse" solutions. Now it's time to
look at each one in reverse into a
potential solution. Well resulting
discussions are quite revealing.
For example:
• "Well of course we don't leave patients
outside in the car park – we already
don't do that."
 Cont……

• "But what about in the morning, there are often patients

waiting outside until opening time?
• "Mmm, true. Pretty annoying for people on first appointments.“
• "So why don't we open the waiting room 10 minutes earlier so it
doesn't happen“
• "Right, we'll do that from tomorrow. There are several members
of staff working already, so it's no problem".
And so it went on. The reverse brainstorming session revealed
tens of improvement ideas that the team could implement
swiftly and easily.
Cont…..
• Luciana concluded: "It was enlightening and fun to
looking at the problem in reverse. The amazing thing
is, it's helped us become more patient-friendly by
stopping doing things rather than creating more
work".
 Cont…..
• Brainwriting : Brainwriting is a form of written
brainstorming.
• It was created by bernd Rohrbach at the end
of the 1960s under the name method 635
and differs from brainstorming by giving
parcipants more time to think than in
brainstorming sessions, where the ideas are
expressed spontaneouly.
• It is silent, written generation of ideas by a
group of people.
 Cont……
Problem: How can we improve the knowledge of English in the service department?

A1 Evening classes A2 Motivation for holiday abroad A3 “English speaking day” each week in A Nikos
the department

B1 Evening classes paid by the company B2 Motivation for summer university in B3 Project meetings in English B Vlad
England

C1 Evening classes with 2 hours off to C2 Contribution by the company for C3 Conversation circle once a month after C Annelie
prepare for the evening classes summer university in GB work

D1 2 hours per week with a teacher in the D2 Higher remuneration for a certified D3 English version of professional D Linda
company qualification literature

E1 e-learning with a tutor and classes in E2 English “library” at the company E3 Conversation circle with foreign E Laila
the company colleagues from the company

F1 Intensive course twice a year on the F2 Going to the Irish pub as often as F3 Intercultural evenings with foreign F Caron
weekend possible colleagues from the company
Possible advantages
The method is very easy to use.
The method doesn’t require a special
qualification for moderation.
Possible disadvantages
Some participants might have problems
describing their ideas concisely so the idea is
not clear for other participants
As there is a fixed time limit of five minutes,
participants might feel pressured and
restricted in their thinking.

The innovative potentials of a group can be

used (experts in different fields of knowledge).

All participants are active (not necessarily

achieved by a brainstorming session).

It is useful if there are conflicts in the group

(conflicts in a group could have a negative
effect when using the oral method of
brainstorming).

A useful idea is systematically developed

further
The "author" of a creative idea can be
identified
 Cont…..
• Forced Relationship Method : Developing a
new idea by looking at product combinations
• Example: What happens when you force a
relationship between a theme park and a
bicycle? Walt Disney came up with the "hub
and spoke" design of Disneyland--a central
meeting and reference point with other
activities radiating out from the center, much
like a bicycle tire. It revolutionized theme
park design and has been copied by virtually
every theme park built since.
Cont……
 Cont…..
• Attribute listing : Developing new idea by looking at
the positives and the negatives.
• Example : if your challenge is to design a new ladies'
handbag, you could list the attributes as: the physical aspects
which include- shape, length, colour, materials used and on
the emotional aspects-the stress some women faced of
misplacing their handbags. You might choose to first tackle
the emotional stress of losing one's handbag by creating a
new small gadget to be placed within the handbag to sound
the owner that she is moving too far away (maybe one or
two metre away) from her 'treasure chest'. After that, you
could work on the other attributes, one by one, be it the
shape or materials used for the handbag.
 Cont…..
Example : If I want to develop an Etsy
“Treasury,” a showcase of Etsy products that I
believe is special in some way, Attribute
Listing provides me with an endless array of
ideas. Typical attributes of a Treasury could
include theme, style,audience, technique and 
material. By listing the first ideas that come
to mind for each attribute, I will have the
start of an Attribute List that I can use to
develop a Treasury:
 Cont……

• Theme: color, ecological, industrial, nature, floral,

toys, songs, books, indoor, outdoor, tools

• Style: modern, Western, vintage, Victorian,

medieval, eclectic

• Audience: adult, women, men, children, teen, baby

Cont…..
• Technique: crochet, collage, beadweaving,
felting, knitting, metalwork, glassblowing,
painting, encaustic, woodworking, sewing,
macrame, Scherenschnitte

• Material: yarn, fabric, feathers, beads,

buttons, paper, glass, wood, metal, plastic
• Now, I will select the following elements from each
Attribute to create a Treasury:
 Cont…..
• Theme: floral

• Style: eclectic

• Audience: women

• Technique: showcase multiple techniques

• Material: showcase multiple materials

Thank You