Ideation Process:

Clear Articulation of Problem Statement with Focus on Latent Needs

Ideation is a critical phase in the Design Thinking process where multiple
ideas are generated to solve a problem. A successful ideation process begins
with a clear articulation of the problem statement and is followed by
creative thinking to address latent needs—those needs that users may not
even realize they have but are key to unlocking innovative solutions.
Clear Articulation of the Problem Statement:
Before diving into ideation, it is essential to define the problem concisely and
clearly. A well-defined problem statement includes:
• User perspective: Focus on the user's needs and challenges.
• Context: Define the environment or situation where the problem exists.
• Specificity: Narrow down to one key problem, ensuring clarity of focus.
• Latent Needs:
These are needs that users may not express directly but are crucial for
enhancing their experience. For example, a latent need could be
something that improves user convenience, such as a more intuitive
design or feature that the user hasn't explicitly requested but would
significantly enhance the product.
• In this phase, innovators must ask:
• Are we addressing an explicit need, or is there something deeper to
uncover?
• How can we better serve users by anticipating what they want before
they ask for it?
2. Brainstorming Potential Solutions
Brainstorming is the next step in the ideation process, where teams
generate as many ideas as possible, without judgment or evaluation.
• Rules for Brainstorming:
• Defer Judgment: No idea is too wild, and critique is reserved for later stages.
• Encourage Wild Ideas: Out-of-the-box thinking is essential for true
innovation.
• Go for Quantity: The more ideas generated, the better the chances of finding
the right solution.
• Build on Others' Ideas: Collaborate and combine ideas to create better ones.
• Stay Focused on the Topic: While generating creative ideas, remain anchored
to the problem statement.
The goal here is not to find the perfect solution right away but to create
a broad spectrum of potential solutions that can later be refined and
tested.
 3. Ideation Methods with a Case-Study Based Approach
Innovators use structured methods to guide their ideation process. One popular approach is Systematic Inventive
Thinking (SIT), a method for innovation that focuses on systematic patterns and uses a set of defined techniques
to arrive at new solutions. SIT encourages innovation by manipulating an existing product or system in specific
ways, rather than starting from scratch.
SIT Methods include:
1. Addition: Introducing a new element or feature to a product, system, or process.
1. Example: Adding cameras to mobile phones revolutionized how we use phones.
2. Subtraction: Removing an essential element of a product or system to discover how its absence could create
new value.
1. Example: Removing physical buttons from smartphones led to touchscreens.
3. Multiplication: Copying an existing component of a product and altering it to create a new benefit.
1. Example: Dual-screen laptops or multiple camera lenses on smartphones.
4. Division: Dividing a product or system into smaller parts and using those parts in a different way.
1. Example: Dividing air conditioner units into indoor and outdoor parts.
5. Task Unification: Assigning additional tasks to an existing component, allowing it to serve multiple functions.
1. Example: Smartwatches serve as both a time-telling device and a health tracker.
Case Study Example of SIT in Action:
• Procter & Gamble used SIT to innovate household products by removing unnecessary features (subtraction) or
adding complementary ones (addition). For example, they improved detergent packaging by unifying the task of
the cap to both measure and pour the detergent.
4. Strategic Innovation for Future Competition: Linear vs. Non-linear Innovation
• Strategic Innovation involves thinking about the future and competition through
two approaches: linear and non-linear innovation.
• Linear Innovation:
This refers to incremental improvements over time. Linear innovation occurs when
companies make small, continuous changes to improve their products or services.
• Example: Yearly updates to smartphone models where incremental improvements, such as
battery life or camera quality, are introduced.
• Non-linear Innovation:
Non-linear innovation, by contrast, is disruptive and creates a significant shift in
the market or customer experience. It introduces entirely new concepts or
business models that change the landscape.
• Example: The introduction of ride-sharing apps like Uber or the iPhone, which
revolutionized the mobile phone market.
In today’s competitive landscape, non-linear innovation is crucial for creating
strategic advantage, as it often catches competitors off guard and can open new
markets.
5. Understanding and Identifying Weak Signals
Weak signals are subtle indications of potential changes or shifts in markets,
customer behavior, or technology that may not yet be significant but can evolve into
major trends. Recognizing these early can give companies a competitive advantage.
• Identifying Weak Signals:
Innovators and strategists must look for:
• Emerging technologies that may not yet be mainstream but have the potential to disrupt.
• Customer behavior shifts: Changing preferences or new demands from niche customer
segments.
• Industry anomalies: Observations that don't fit established trends but could be early
indicators of change.
Example:
In the early 2000s, the weak signal of consumers shifting from owning music (CDs)
to streaming music online (via platforms like Napster) signaled the shift that would
eventually lead to the rise of Spotify and the decline of physical music media.
6. 3-Box Thinking and Innovation Framework
The 3-Box Framework is a strategic innovation model introduced by Vijay
Govindarajan, used to balance managing the present with creating the
future. It consists of three key components:
• Box 1: Managing the Present
Focuses on improving the current business by optimizing existing processes
and products. Incremental innovations belong here.
• Box 2: Selectively Forgetting the Past
This box is about letting go of outdated models, processes, or thinking that
no longer serve the organization or align with future goals. Strategic
innovations in this box may involve eliminating practices that no longer add
value.
• Box 3: Creating the Future
In Box 3, the focus is on non-linear innovation—disruptive,
forward-thinking strategies that help create new markets, new products, or
new business models.
• Example of the 3-Box Framework in Practice:
A technology company might:
• Box 1: Continue improving its current line of computers (present).
• Box 2: Phase out older, non-innovative products, like CDs or floppy
disks (past).
• Box 3: Invest in virtual reality hardware, developing new platforms
and markets (future).
• Strategic Application of the 3-Box Framework:
• Companies must balance all three boxes to ensure they remain
competitive in the present, adapt to new changes, and innovate for
future growth.
• 7. Box-3 Ideation
• Box-3 ideation focuses on generating ideas and innovations that fit into the
"Creating the Future" category of the 3-box framework. This ideation
process looks at future trends, weak signals, and disruptive innovations to
create new markets and opportunities.
• Key questions for Box-3 ideation include:
• What trends or technologies could fundamentally change our industry in
the next 5-10 years?
• How can we rethink our current business model to prepare for future
disruption?
• What emerging customer needs or behaviors could we tap into that our
competitors are overlooking?
• Box-3 ideation requires companies to move beyond the incremental and
push towards radical innovation, building entirely new offerings that
change the market.