How to Add Creativity to your Product Development Process

Product Development Creativity

Let's face it, when it comes to developing new and innovative ideas it can be a challenge. We have all been in that situation where our co-founder, manager, or associate calls for a meeting to discuss a new product idea and brainstorm ideas to make an existing product more manufacturable or easier to assemble, create a new process or technical documentation, and the list goes on. Ultimately there is a problem that needs a solution and the trap most of us fall into is to get a in room and start brainstorming ideas on a whiteboard. Whoever feels confident enough to speak will dominate the conversation and you will be left with marginal solutions at best. You might ask yourself the question "How can I ensure that my team and I come up with the best possible solution to our problem?" Fortunately there is a solution that is tried and true for the past 75 years, that is the Creative Problem Solving Process.

Creative Problem Solving Process Guidelines

A good definition of creativity is "Novelty that is useful". Creativity will only be allowed to flourish in the correct team climate. The climate of the team meaning how receptive they are to new ideas will directly impact the motivation of the team to think outside the box which could impair or promote creative behavior. Creativity stimulants can be being playful, encouraging debate, taking risks, giving people time for ideas to develop, supporting ideas, and keeping the space emotionally safe will keep the team trusting and open to share ideas. Conversely, watch out for these creativity crushers such as pre-existing habits, rules and traditions, comfort with the status quo, fear of failure, or pressure to conform to the group. Also monitor the praise to criticism ratio, if the group is criticizing more then they are praising ideas it will be difficult to change behavior or develop new ideas.

Foursight Creative Problem Solving Process Model

Creative Problem Solving Process

The creative problem solving process is a structured method to solve problems. It takes the natural process most people follow and charts out where the team is and where they are going in the problem solving journey. The model typically used is the Foursight model which includes four basic steps: Clarify, Ideate, Develop, and Implement.

1. Clarify

   The goal of the clarify stage is to understand the problem or challenge that is to be solved. What are we really trying to solve, what is the key information we have and what do we need to know? You start with a goal in mind and end this phase with an open ended question that will encourage innovative thoughts and ideas to address the challenge differently.

   
   

2. Ideate

   The goal of ideation is the explore as many ideas as the team can come up with. All ideas are in the spirit of addressing the challenge set forth in the clarify stage. Start with novel and purposeful ideas that meet the problem statement. At the end the team should select ideas to help solve the challenge.

   
   

3. Develop

   The purpose of this stage is to develop and turn the ideas developed into workable solutions. The team spends time taking the high level idea and thinking it through what a final state solution would look like. At the start of this phase you would have some good ideas that need refinement. At the end there should be a selected, well developed solution ready for implementation.

   
   

4. Implement

   The goal of this stage is to put the idea into action. Start charting out an action plan with owners and dates to hold the team accountable to the target goal. This phase starts with a strong solution that has been developed by the entire team and is ready for action. The phase ends with an action plan that shows how to test and sell the solution to the surrounding stakeholders.

When done properly, the Creative Problem Solving process is an excellent resource for product managers, engineers, designers, or any functional group that needs to come up with a creative solution. At Dreamspace Engineering Consulting, we follow the creative problem solving process frequently to come up with creative and innovative solutions for our clients. Working with our customers, we walk through all phases of the process to ensure there is buy-in from all parties, and we develop the best solution possible! If you are interested to work with Dreamspace on your product design, analysis, or engineering needs please visit us at www.designwithdreamspace.com/engineering-capabilities to learn more about the services we provide! If you are ready to request a quote, visit us at www.designwithdreamspace.com/request-a-quote today!

Warmest Regards,

Thomas A. Smith

Owner at Dreamspace Engineering Consulting

P: 661-755-9225

E: dreamspaceconsulting@gmail.com

Note: This is an original post created by Thomas Smith, not AI or any other chatbot.