Ideation Workshop

1. Purpose

Ideation Workshops turn results from previous phases — especially inspiring insights from Phase II: Playgrounds & Exploration — into first rough ideas for new products, services, process improvements, and even business models. The goal: enhance the Portfolio with fresh input, ready for validation and implementation. Yes, this workshop is about creativity — pushing your own mental boundaries to produce something new. But the most important factor, beyond the people in the room, is preparation. As mentioned in Step 1: Ideate, creativity doesn't happen in isolation. Define the scope of ideation first — this is where results from previous phases of the End-to-End Innovation Process come in. Make sure:

• there is a future vision for the organisation (Phase I)

• success (long- and short-term) is defined (Phase I), and

• we have inspiring results from exploratory research into relevant Playgrounds (Phase II) that we can translate into ideas.

Everyone in the workshop should have been part of the preparation and know the research results. Bring in a Team Coach — highly recommended. An Innovation Manager is a great addition too, since this role usually oversees all innovation activities in the company. Start by presenting the context: the future vision, a Playground, and the definition of success. Then present the research results for the Playground and derive "How Might We" (HMW) questions from them. These questions link research and creativity. For example: research might show that customers run into serious problems when booking an order and abandon the process after spending too much time on it. A matching HMW question:

How might we give customers an experience where they can complete the process successfully in under X minutes?

Make sure the HMW question refers concretely to the insights and addresses one specific problem — without suggesting a solution. Negative example (no problem statement, includes a solution):

How might we make our offering more innovative by including a digital service?

An HMW question should open up a solution space. If it already contains an idea, you limit that space. If it's too broad, without a clear problem definition, your ideas may miss your target group's needs or fail to solve the real problem. Never focus an HMW question only on the problem or need — always describe the goal you want to reach by solving it. That goal should reflect the benefit for a specific target group. Another Positive example:

How might we develop an offering that gives insecure people with physical limitations the confidence to live self-determined at home for longer?

The trigger question kicks off creativity. Participants should know the research results, ideally from being actively involved in the research itself. Combine these insights with trigger questions — sometimes with the help of additional Creativity Techniques — and visualize ideas quickly and vividly. That's the core agenda of an Ideation Workshop. We usually invite a designer, who turns thoughts and ideas into tangible sketches and storylines in real time. We love that!

Document each idea after the workshop in a standardised format such as the Idea Charter format.

2. Duration

1 day + preparation and documentation

3. Participants

• Researchers

• Innovation Manager

• Team Manager

• Team Members

• Team Coach

• Designer for visualisation

4. Preparation

• Insights from research prepared and printed

• Scope of the ideation workshop framed with management

• Designer for visualising ideas invited to join

• All tools & materials prepared and printed

• Team members invited, travels and accommodations arranged

• Room & catering booked or organised

5. Tools & Materials

• Idea Charter

• Materials for Creativity Techniques

6. Example Agenda

* P = Presentation | D = Discussion | B = Break | T = Teamwork