INNOVATION GAMES Building Innovative Features and Products Using Brainstorming

Ben Sykes User Experience & Behavior Design @bensykes

The Games Simple Affinity Mapping Give Them A Hot Tub Remember The Future Worst Nightmare Empathy Map !Scenario: Improving A Feature Gmail Compose Experience !Scenario: Improving A Mobile App Group choice !BREAK !Designing A Product (Random) Design Principles Platform Functionality (3) Emotional Target Problem To Solve !

Agenda

Resources!

THE GAMES The Overview

Goal • Simple brainstorming revealing

embedded patterns. !

Activity • Generate as many post-it notes

in response to the question you want answered.

• Cluster the post-its into categories.

Simple Affinity Mapping

Goal • Use outrageous features to

discover hidden breakthroughs !

Activity • Write several features on post-

its. One feature per post-it. The more outrageous the better.

• Generate as many post-it notes in the allocated time.

• Cluster into categories.

Give Them A Hot Tub

Goal • Envision success future success !

Activity • Imagine that it is sometime in

the future (5 years?). You’ve been using the feature or product for sometime now. On post-it’s (one per) write down what the product or feature will have done to make you happy.

• Generate as many post-it notes in the allocated time.

• Cluster into categories.

Remember The Future

Goal • Discover hidden worst case

scenarios. Create sweet dreams for your product by creating nightmares !

Activity • Imagine your worst nightmare

related to your product or feature. (E.g. a sports drink that induces vomiting.) Write down one nightmare per post-it.

• Generate as many post-it notes in the allocated time.

• Cluster into categories.

My Worst Nightmare

Goal • Get inside the head of your

customer or target user !

Activity • Give the target user a name

and a title. • Create sectors related to 1.

hearing, seeing, thinking, saying, feeling & doing.

• Using post-it notes assign attributes or details to each sector.

Empathy Map

Scenario: Improving A Feature

Goal • Improve on the Gmail

compose feature. !

Activity • Use two or more innovation

games. You choose. • Cluster your results • Pick the best ones • Present as a narrative to the

group !Time • 15 minutes to generate &

cluster.

Improving An Existing Feature

Improving An Existing FeatureGoal • Improve on the Gmail

compose feature. !

Activity • Use two or more innovation

games. You choose. • Cluster your results • Pick the best ones • Present as a narrative to the

group !Time • 15 minutes to generate &

cluster.

Present Your Findings.1. Games used 2. Effectiveness? 3. Final Outcome? 4. Viable?

Scenario: Improve A Mobile App

Goal • Improve an existing mobile app !

Activity • Use two or more innovation

games. You choose. • Cluster your results • Pick the best ones • Present as a narrative to the

group !Time • 30 minutes to generate &

cluster.

Improving An Existing Mobile Product

Goal • Improve an existing mobile app !

Activity • Use two or more innovation

games. You choose. • Cluster your results • Pick the best ones • Present as a narrative to the

group !Time • 30 minutes to generate &

cluster.

Improving An Existing Mobile Product

Present Your Findings.1. Games used 2. Effectiveness? 3. Final Outcome? 4. Viable?

Break…