Entrepreneurship I – Guided Notes – OBJ 2.04
Why learn about techniques for generating product ideas? Someone somewhere at some time came up
with the idea for every item that you see around you.
I.
Explain the nature of product ideation.
Ideation is the process of generating and developing new ideas. The word “ideation” sounds like the
words “idea” and “creation” combined.
New Product Ideas are Key
1. The market’s needs and wants change constantly
2. Businesses need to stay ahead of the competition
3. Products’ life cycles are becoming shorter
Sources of Inspiration
1. Trends (A general direction in which people or events are moving – fashion; TV shows; music)
2. Customers (Smart businesses learn what customers want and then work to make those products
available to those customers)
3. Existing products
a. How can you make problem products better?
b. Are there ways to improve even your best selling products?
c. What complementary products could be offered?
d. What are substitutes for existing products?
Do What You Do Best
1. Identify your areas of expertise
2. Channel your strengths into successful new products.
Pitfalls of Ideation
1. Lack of creativity
2. Concern about the unknown
3. Fear of criticism
II.
Describe techniques used to identify product ideas.
Think Creatively
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Think “outside the box”
Think in different ways
Focus your mind on unrelated things
Entrepreneurship I – Guided Notes – OBJ 2.04
There are many methods you can use to practice creative thinking and build on your own creativity.
1. Lateral thinking methods
2. Programmed thinking methods
Lateral thinking methods involve approaching an issue from new illogical directions and using illogical
methods to develop new ideas. Lateral thinking methods include:
1. Brainstorming
a. Identify as many different ideas as possible during a certain time frame
b. Usually works better in a group setting but can be used individually
c. Follows a set of guidelines
i. Focus on a specific product opportunity you have recognized
ii. Come up with as many ideas as you can for a good or service for that specific
opportunity
iii. During the brainstorming, don’t judge the quality of ideas that was shared
1. Criticism can kill creativity!
2. Acknowledge and record even the craziest ideas
iv. After brainstorming, evaluate the ideas
d. Can differ in a number of ways
i. Number of people involved
ii. Amount of time used
iii. Noise level
iv. Way to share ideas
e. Can be one of several different types
i. Relay brainstorming
1. Similar to a relay race
2. Involves multiple individuals from competing teams responding in a
certain order with no assistance from teammates
ii. Round-robin brainstorming
1. Does not involve teams
2. Requires participants to respond quickly and only when it’s their turn
iii. Starbursting
1. Draw a six-pointed star and write your product opportunity in the
middle
2. Write one of the following words at each tip of the star: Who? What?
Why? Where? When? How?
3. Ask and answer questions that start with these words to develop ideas
based on the recognized product opportunity
iv. Mind mapping
1. Mind mapping helps you to generate ideas by making associations
2. In the center of a large piece of paper, write the main idea, which is the
product opportunity that you identified.
Entrepreneurship I – Guided Notes – OBJ 2.04
3. From that starting point, draw lines to other words or phrases that are
related to the main idea
4. From each of these words, draw other lines that relate to that particular
word
5. Mind mapping helps you to expand your thinking and get lots of
different ideas down on paper in a short period of time.
v. Braindrawing
1. When braindrawing, individuals take turns randomly sketching and
doodling on a piece of paper.
2. Each person builds on the others’ drawings until the page is covered
with sketches.
3. Members of the group study the doodles, try to identify the shapes that
they see, and then determine how the shapes can be related to their
product opportunity.
2. Free association
a. Allow your mind to wander
b. When presented with a random word or picture, name the first thing that comes to
mind
c. Record your flow of ideas, allowing each idea to trigger others
d. Repeat the process, using new random words or pictures if necessary, until you begin
making connections between your thoughts and the product opportunity in question.
3. Forced questioning
a. Like starbursting, forced questioning uses basic question starters to develop original
questions to ask (and answer) about the product opportunity
b. However, the list of question starters includes more than just who, what, why, where,
when and how
c. When using forced questioning, you can also start questions with words like did, will,
might, would, could, should, etc.
d. Sample questions
i. Could we satisfy this economic want?
ii. What services could we offer to take advantage of this opportunity?
e. Synectics
i. Synectics comes from a Greek word meaning “bringing forth together”
ii. The synectics creative-thinking process involves making connections through
the use of forced relations.
iii. It is typically more demanding and time-consuming than brainstorming, but also
more rewarding.
iv. It’s a good tool to use when other creativity methods have failed.
v. Forced relations synectics techniques involve connecting two items or ideas that
seem completely unrelated to find new practical combinations and products.
1. Forced associations
a. Require you to essentially “bang things together”
Entrepreneurship I – Guided Notes – OBJ 2.04
b. Involve making a direct connection between random words and
the issue at hand
2. Forced analogies
a. Forced analogies use metaphors and similes to create
connections where none currently exist.
b. For example, assume that you have identified a potential
product opportunity that involves a problem – waiting for the
bus on cold days – and you’re trying to come up with a solution
to that problem.
c. Using forced analogies, you might compare this problem with
what seems like a totally different situation.
d. In this case, you might consider other times when people have
to wait: at doctors’ offices; amusement parks; restaurants, etc.
e. You may be able to compare waiting for the bus on cold days to
one or more of these situations and come up with ideas for a
solution to the problem.
Programmed thinking techniques are organized, logical, and analytical. Programmed thinking methods
include:
1. Attribute listing
a. Attribute listing involves listing a product’s characteristics or attributes that make an
item unique and different from other goods and services.
b. After listing the product’s characteristics, individuals using this technique focus on
finding ways to improve the product’s existing attributes.
c. Example:
i. You work as a candle-maker
ii. To generate ideas for new products, you could list the attributes of an existing
candle: scent, color, size, shape, etc.
iii. Then you could study the candle’s characteristics individually to determine how
to improve the overall product.
iv. You might decide to make the candle’s scent stronger; the color darker; and so
on.
2. Morphological analysis
a. Focuses on a situation’s or product’s details
b. Involves listing the attributes of a product
c. Involves combining some or all of a product’s attributes in different ways to create new
products.
d. Is used by professionals in many fields (architecture, the culinary arts, graphic design,
etc.) to develop new products.