Ideation sessions challenge you to think outside the box. These sessions encourage you to explore as many ideas as possible to find solutions. The focus is on quantity of ideas rather than quality. In a judgement free zone, you are free to uncover, sometimes unconventional, ideas to build upon. This ideation phase transitions you from learning about the users to finding a solution to the problem. This is where innovation grows and you find what the users has been missing.
The ideation session should be focused on the users to get their perspective.
The more user views you have, the more diverse the ideas will be.
The ideation process can be done several different ways depending on the needs of the user and the problem you need to find a solution for. The session can be done alone or in a group and short or over several hours. It could be a one-time session or over several sessions, as well as being formal or informal as needed. Use the research you have gathered to define the ideation problem that you want to solve. Be clear about the needs of the users. Ensure that the focus in the ideation session is on improving the user experience. Set aside any technical constraints or business viability. At this stage, no idea is too farfetched. It is much easier to scale back a crazy idea that addresses a true user need, than to try to make a very simply idea desirable.
Ideation is the process of generating a broad set of ideas on a given topic,
with no attempt to judge or evaluate them.
Holly Checchia 