UI and UX

Day - 2
 UI and UX
Day - 2

Innovative Thinking – Divergent and Convergent

Thinking – Brain Storming -- Game Storming --
3-12-3 Example
 What is Innovative thinking
• Innovative thinking is a creative and forward-looking
approach to problem-solving, idea generation, and
decision-making that aims to develop novel and effective
solutions, products, or strategies.

• It involves challenging conventional ideas, exploring new

perspectives, and applying fresh approaches to address
challenges or improve processes.

• The ability to conceptualize and implement creative, user-

centered design solutions that solve user problems
effectively while providing a seamless and enjoyable
experience.
 Key Characteristics of
Innovative Thinking:
• Creativity and Novelty: Innovative thinking encourages the generation
of fresh ideas and new ways of looking at things.

• Solution-Oriented: It aims to create impactful solutions, whether that’s

through a new product, service, process, or idea.

• Flexibility: Being open to adapting or changing existing methods or

systems to improve or transform them.

• Forward-Thinking: Anticipating future challenges or needs and thinking

about solutions that will be relevant and effective in the long term.
 How to do Innovation thinking
• Innovative thinking in design combines two types of
thinking:

• Divergent thinking, where you explore many possible ideas

without limitations, Divergent thinking helps generate
creativity,

• Convergent thinking, where you narrow down those ideas

by evaluating their feasibility, user needs, and practical
constraints. Convergent thinking ensures those ideas are
useful and actionable.
 What is Divergent Thinking
• Divergent thinking is a creative process that helps generate a
wide range of ideas or possibilities.

• It involves thinking broadly, exploring different angles, and

coming up with multiple solutions to a problem

• The main goal of divergent thinking is to promote creativity by

allowing a free flow of thoughts without judgment or evaluation

• In short, it’s about “thinking outside the box” and considering

unconventional options.
Divergent Thinking flow

• Define the problem: Start by clearly outlining the problem or challenge

you’re facing. Understand its scope and boundaries.

• Brainstorm freely: Hold a brainstorming session where you and your team
generate as many ideas as possible. During this phase:
• Do not criticize or judge ideas.
• Welcome unconventional and even seemingly impractical ideas.
• Build upon the ideas of others to spark creativity.

• Mind mapping: Use mind maps or visual diagrams to explore connections

between ideas and concepts. This can help you see the bigger picture and
identify potential solutions.

• Role play and scenario building: Imagine yourself in different scenarios

related to the problem. Role-playing and scenario building can help you
consider various perspectives and possibilities.

• Analogies and metaphors: Draw analogies or use metaphors to relate the

problem to unrelated concepts. This can help generate fresh insights and
creative solutions.

• Idea capture: Document all generated ideas systematically, either on paper

or digitally. Organize them for easy reference during the convergent thinking
phase. Use the following brainstorming board to quickly record and organize
ideas.
 What is Convergent Thinking
• Convergent thinking is a focused and analytical process
aimed at selecting the best solution or idea from a set of
options.

• It involves carefully evaluating, comparing, and

narrowing down choices to identify the most effective and
practical solution to a problem.

• Convergent thinking is about making decisions and finding

the most suitable answer based on specific criteria, often
guided by logic, data, and established principles.
Flow of Convergent Thinking
1. Evaluate ideas: Review the list of generated ideas from the divergent

thinking phase. Consider factors like feasibility, practicality, and alignment

with your goals and constraints.

2. Set criteria: Define specific criteria or parameters for evaluating ideas.

This could include cost-effectiveness, time constraints, and the potential for

implementation.

3. Rank and prioritize: Rank the ideas based on their alignment with the

established criteria. Prioritize the top ideas that best meet your objectives.

4. Select the best option: Choose the single best solution or idea from

the prioritized list. This decision should be well-reasoned and backed by

data and analysis.

5. Plan implementation: Develop a detailed action plan for implementing

the chosen solution. Outline the steps, resources, and timeline required for

execution.

6. Test and iterate: Implement the chosen solution and monitor its

progress. If necessary, be open to making adjustments and iterations based

 What is Brainstorming ?
• Brainstorming is a method design teams use to generate ideas to
solve clearly defined design problems.

• In controlled conditions and a free-thinking environment, teams

approach a problem by such means as “How Might We”
questions.

• They produce a vast array of ideas and draw links between them
to find potential solutions.
 How To Use Brainstorming Best
• Brainstorming is part of design thinking.
• It used in the ideation phase.
• Everyone in a design team should have a clear
definition of the target problem.
• They typically gather for a brainstorming session in a
room with a large board/wall for pictures/Post-Its.
• A good mix of participants will expand the experience
pool and therefore broaden the idea space.
• Brainstorming consist of 8 rules to be followed for
effective .
 8 Rules of Brain Storming
• Set a time limit:-
• Depending on the problem’s complexity, 15–60 minutes is normal
• Begin with a target problem/brief:-
• Members should approach this sharply defined question, plan or goal and stay on topic.
• Refrain from judgment/criticism:-
• No-one should be negative (including via body language) about any idea.
• Encourage weird and wacky ideas:-
• Further to the ban on killer phrases like “too expensive”, keep the floodgates open so everyone feels free to
blurt out ideas (provided they’re on topic).
• Aim for quantity:-
• Remember, “quantity breeds quality”. The sifting-and-sorting process comes later.
• Build on others’ ideas:-
• It’s a process of association where members expand on others’ notions and reach new insights, allowing these
ideas to trigger their own. Say “and”—rather than discourage with “but”—to get ideas closer to the problem.
• Stay visual:-
• Diagrams and Post-Its help bring ideas to life and help others see things in different ways.
• Allow one conversation at a time:-
• To arrive at concrete results, it’s essential to keep on track this way and show respect for everyone’s ideas.
Some Approaches of Brain
Storming
• Brainstorming and its sibling approaches – brain
dumping (for individuals), and brainwriting and brain
walking (for group-and-individual mixes).

• To capture everyone’s ideas in a brainstorming session,

someone must play “scribe” and mark every idea on the
board.
Steps for conducting Brain
Storm session
• Define the problem
• Define the sessions duration
• Encouraging speaking one by one
• Prohibit any judgement.
• Encourage Visual Representation
 Advantages of Brain Storming
• Thought Diversity:
• One can diverse idea from different participant

• Quick Idea Generation:

• With more individuals involved in the activity , many ideas can
be generated quickly

• Creative:
• Stimulates creative problem solving with the group
 Disadvantages of Brain
Storming
• High Costs:
• It more expensive than online surveys

• Time Consuming:
• It more time consuming than a few other methods

• Hampers Innovation:
• May not result in great and innovative ideas from a single session. Again
too many participants may not prove to be beneficial in new idea
generation.

• Fear of judgement and inauthenticity:

• Participants afraid of getting judged for their ideas, may not be honest or
open during the session.
 What is Game Storming
• It is group of techniques developed in 1970s and
adopted by several silicon valley companies in order to
overcome the limitation of traditional brain storming.

• Game storming is a form of brainstorming that

leverages the use of games.

• Playing games enforces rules, effectively helping to

overcome the usual brainstorming limitations. The way
brainstorming avoids conflicts is by shifting group and
thought dynamics.
Example of Game Storming
• At Collaboard we need to coordinate employees across
multiple locations, and found that gamestorming
(especially when facilitated through our app Collaboard)
makes it easier to handle collaborative and creative
processes.
Types of Game Storming
Sessions
• Opening:-
• In this stage, the facilitator initiates the process. It’s
important here to set the context and define the
problem. It's about opening up the minds of the
participants—and encouraging them to explore diverse
ideas and perspectives in the problem space as well.

• Explore:-
• The participants delve deeper into the problem space.
tThey explore various facets of the problem—and work to
generate a whole multitude of potential solutions. This
stage consists of free-flowing ideas, vigorous discussions
and creative experimentation.

• Closing:-
• The participants evaluate the generated ideas, refine
them and converge on the most promising solutions. It
involves critical analysis, decision-making and
consensus-building.
Game Storming example (3-12-3
Brainstorming gaming)
• 3-12-3 Brainstorm game, ideated by James Macanufo, involving
employees in three different locations: Zurich, Munich and
Milano.
• There can be up to 10 players, who must follow these rules:
• First of all, they must choose a two-word topic to focus on.
• After the choice, phase one of the game begins: for 3 minutes, each team
member brainstorms on his own and writes down their ideas on sticky
notes.
• When everyone’s done brainstorming, the team is divided into sub teams
of 2 people each. This is the beginning of phase 2
• For 12 minutes, teams pick three random cards and develop a full
fledged concept
• In phase 3, teams have 3 minutes each to present their ideas to everyone
else.
3-12-3 Brainstorming gaming
• Brainstorm some ideas for Christmas Cards.
• For the sake of simplicity, we split our team into 3 sub
teams according to their physical location:
• Berlin
• Zurich
• Munich.
 3-12-3 Brainstorming gaming  PHASE
-1

• This first phase is all about generating ideas.

Each team member is on his own and must write
on sticky notes whatever idea comes to mind.

• The limited time of 3 minutes

• they were quickly moved into a grid library.

3-12-3 Brainstorming gaming 
PHASE - 2
• Once solo brainstorming was completed, each team
member selected three random stick notes from the
library to start developing concepts around them
• This phase a bit more challenging than the first one, as
the cards could involve clashing ideas. But this is
exactly where collaboration steps in: the team has to
work together in order to consolidate the ideas into a
final, collaborative project.
• visualizing and working through sketches, images,
prototypes and concepts made the process way easier
• Limited time of 12 minutes
3-12-3 Brainstorming gaming 
PHASE - 3
• Finally, we approached the final phase. Using sketches
created in phase two, we proceeded to present our final
ideas to the team.
• Limited for 3 minutes