concepts of engineering and technology copyright © texas education agency, 2012. all rights...

IDEATION:The Power of Ideas

Concepts of Engineering and Technology

Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved.

Definition of Ideation

The process of forming ideas. The creative process of

generating, developing, and communicating new ideas

An idea is understood to be a basic element of thought that can be either visual, concrete, or abstract

An essential part of the design process, both in education and practice


What is Ideation

The exchange of ideas in order to generate more ideas To get people to think about things in

new ways It is important to be open and not rule

anything out No criticism or judgments allowed Failure is an opportunity to seek new

solutions or ask different questionsCopyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved.

Improvement vs. Innovation

Improvement is incremental Innovation is a game changerExamples of improvement:

Realplayer, Windows media player, winamp

Examples of innovation: ITunesNetflix is doing to TV what ITunes did

to music Improvement is necessary for a

companies survival, innovation can create market dominance


The Purpose of Ideation

To create business value. This can be a reduction in cost, a new product, an improvement to an existing product, or a new service

To generate as many ideas as possible in as condensed a timeframe as possible

Companies want to believe that generating and leveraging the ideas of their workers is one of their core competencies and leads to a competitive advantage


Value of Ideation

To discover important new products or features

To add efficiency to a process To develop open communication

through the process of discussionTo leverage the collective brainpower

of the entire organization People involved develop a sense of

purpose and value to the company


More Value

Ideation is becoming more common in a company’s product development process

The old process was more linear and relied on the capabilities of fewer individuals

The ideation process promotes an internal corporate culture of trust and shared information

Anyone can contribute to innovationCopyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved.

What it takes

More than one person, group, or organizational unit

Collaboration has to be developed What can we do together must turn into

what will we do together. Relationships are often the key There must be some structure to

the processA tangible goal has to be defined


The Process of Ideation

Look at trends Do an industry analysis Leverage customer interactions

Voice of the Customer Customers can provide some insight into

wants or needs Particularly with early adopters

Brainstorm possible solutions SWOT analysis (strength, weakness,

opportunities, threats)Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved.

Keys to Ideation

CreativityProblems often have contradictory requirements Keep the cost down and make it

durableCalled an inventive problem

A problem with no known solution


Three Stages to Ideation

Innovation A new method, idea, or device

Development To process of producing a product or result

Actualization Making the product real


Challenges to Engineers

Engineers generally think of themselves as expert problem solvers Engineers can apply knowledge of

systems, mechanical properties, and have a tool chest of things that have worked in other situations

Engineers are not generally considered to be artistic or creative The tools an engineer uses to solve a

problem are usually analytical or mathematical (logical)Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved.

More Challenges

Engineering is RESULT driven and the primary goal is always the same: Find the OPTIMAL solution to a problem

An engineer want to look at a solution as a series of simple pieces Complexity leads to the use of simplifying

assumptions An outside viewpoint is often needed to

bypass the restrictions that logical or sequential thinking involves


Solutions

Ideation is a creative process, not an analytical process

Ideate with a geek, validate with the meek

Diversity is importantYou need divergent thinking

not ideas for slight variations to existing products that do not lead to innovation

Cross functional planning teams Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved.

Conclusion

Creative problem solving usually requires two distinct phases: divergent thinking (ideation) and convergent thinking (idea analysis and evaluation)

There has to be some method of implementing proposed solutions What good are ideas if they are not put

to use? Copyright © Texas Education Agency, 2012. All rights reserved.

concepts of engineering and technology copyright © texas education agency, 2012. all rights...

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