What happens before an ideation workshop?

Problem exploration, refinement, understanding as well as a proper opportunity framing are essential for successful solution development.

When we look at how innovation is happening in many companies today, we see people have a clear bias towards jumping into “solution-mode” right away. They start with the idea without a proper understanding of the problem. They operate in the solution space without proper exploration of the problem space.

👉🏼 Check my post “Ideas don´t matter, problems do” for further information.

But solution development and ideation unveil their full potential as an innovation process only once you have a problem that is worth solving.

So what has to be done before starting to ideate on potential solution approaches?

Ideation workshops are used once you conducted sufficient research, user interviews, identified a clear opportunity, and a clear problem statement (A problem statement identifies a current problem a user is encountering and the goal the user would like to accomplish).

Skipping the prior research may lead to solutions no customer actually needs and that have nothing to do with your user’s motivations or pain points.

These are the prior steps before an ideation workshop:

• Prior market research has been realized or other types of data points (qualitative or quantitative) have been collected;
• A user problem/need and a potential opportunity for business growth have been identified (Define user problem statement);
• Define what’s the detailed customer problem/need (functional, social, emotional, financial) we build upon;
• Define what existing research, insight, or data will fuel the ideation sprint; Understand the data, insights, or general information that led to the potential opportunity;
• Define what are the existing requirements and boundaries for the product from a business perspective;
• Define the target audience;
• Define success metrics;
• Define the competitive landscape;
• Secure alignment of all key stakeholders;
• Previously executed work in this field;
• Understand critical success factors and associated risks and opportunities

The opportunity framing and alignment before the ideation phase is intended to set the scene for the project management team to land on their feet running and to proceed without ambiguity. It creates alignment and clarity between the project team, decision-makers, and key stakeholders on the mentioned aspects of the project. It also creates an enriched context of the problem, the user, and the business need.

You want to take action or you need help?

Do you want to carry out an ideation workshop with your team? Do you want to develop concrete concepts and get from vague ideas and opportunities to tangible solution approaches?

👉🏼 Get more information about my Ideation Workshop Service to kickstart your innovation journey or build upon spotted opportunities.

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About Me

About Me

Helping companies with effective strategies and execution for a systematic, user- and growth-centered innovation.

My name is Fabian Roschig and I am a consultant for innovation strategies and innovation management.

My mission is to drive innovation at all levels, based on the individual strengths of each organization, to enable and accelerate sustainable commercial growth. Together we make this happen by setting clear goals, focusing on the right balance between strategy and execution, and using validated, systematic methods and tools that guarantee continuous, measurable results.

For more than 12 years, I have had the privilege to successfully plan, implement or optimize new strategies, products, and services, innovation programs, structures, agile teams as well as processes for a variety of clients and employers such as The Coca-Cola Company, Condor, kicker, Dr. Oetker or TUI. In doing so, I work closely with executive boards, middle management, cross-functional teams, and external service providers.