This page is an output of the Itana Spring Face2Face 2016 meeting, contributed to the Itana wiki by the meeting attendees.

Definition

The process of generating and developing a pool of ideas for satisfying a need or solving a problem and sifting that pool into a workable set of useful ideas.  These ideas have the support of the group that created them.  Processing these ideas could involve classifying them according to some relevant framework.

Outputs

• One or more viable ideas for an issue or topic with definitions for the ideas

Context

• We are aware of a problem or need via a strategic plan, a work request, a governance group, or some other formal or informal communication of need.

• A catalyst exists for which ideas, solutions, et. al. are needed.

• This process is good to support the creation of some of the artifacts enumerated in the ITANA catalog.

Examples

• An undesired condition is defined (say, there are 20 versions of a technology throughout campus).  EA is tasked with proposing one or more solutions/outcomes to this condition.

• Many application teams want to monitor many applications and would like to have a easier way to do so.

• EA is going to hold an all-day event and we want to brainstorm topics and build an agenda.

• Undergraduate Advisors want to envision what a dashboard for advisors could contain and look like

• An executive leader wants to replace an existing campus technology.

• Campus leadership wants to enable a new capability.

• A service owner needs to create, enhance, or deprecate a service

• A manual process needs to be modernized using 21st century technology

• A group lists a bunch of current state issues.  The process may involve sorting those issues according to workflow or lifecycle stages.

• A state mandate is issued for stable tuition for 4 years

Source Material

Material that can be used as a source for ideas include:

• Strategic Plans (business and IT)

• Industry Trends

• IT Portfolio reports

• Existing EA representations

• IT work request system

• Leadership planning retreat

• Enterprise improvement suggestion program

Activities

This activity should include at least three aspects:

• The act of gathering a lot of ideas (ideation)

• The act of narrowing the list of ideas down to a manageable number of viable ideas. (winnowing)

• Classifying, Clarifying, defining and/or framing the ideas

Some best practices include:

• Use an Ice Breaker (“Yes, and…”, “Meet and greet”, etc.) to get the group thinking and build relationships.

• Use facilitation tools (like Appreciative Interviews) to make the group comfortable and open with each other.

• Be aware of how introverts and extroverts interact.

• Use games and role-playing, scenarios of people using the idea to help people be spontaneous.  (Role Storming )

• Space is important.  Be thoughtful of the space you are working in.  Get people out of the normal work space.

• Consider and plan for supplies and materials needed to complete the exercise.

• Have a scribe and a neutral facilitator if possible.

• Consider and plan for recording the output and distributing it to participants.

• Tap a diversity of perspectives (people, backgrounds, experiences) to capture a breadth of ideas

• Mix “I” time (periods for people to think on their own) and group time.

• Break people into small teams and have them work independently for a while to prevent groupthink.

• Be explicit that this is a safe place.  No criticizing ideas.  “Yes, and...” type of input rather than “No, not...”.

• Make sure you set ground rules and use facilitation practices to make sure everyone gets a voice.

• Be explicit about the constraints that bound the ideas or solutions.

• Be careful of seeding the topic with a preformed idea or example that will limit creativity. (Don’t say, “Think of an animal like a whale” say, “Think of an animal”)

Some well known techniques for ideation and or narrowing include:

• 25-10 Crowd-sourcing

• 1-2-4-all

• Brainwriting

• SWOT analysis

• Note and Vote

• Mindmapping

• Dot-voting

• Rolestorming

• Clustering (Post-its gathered and sorted into clusters of ideas)

Brainstorming is not recommended due to the propensity for groupthink

The outcome of this exercise, is a narrowed list of possible solutions, objects, goals, or outcomes. The items in the list might additionally be classified

Related Skills

• Meeting Planning

• Meeting Management

• Personal Leadership

• Building Relationships

• Building Political Currency

Possible Next Steps

• Choose and create an artifact that reflects the chosen idea(s) that meet unmet needs