project are completed. Even after this the interdisciplinary teams has to have the talent, knowledge, experience and technical know-how to get the job done. The team needs also a unified goal and a good leader who will lead them to the right way in the process of development. Team work is difficult, especially in a group with different skills and expertise. The group members might have opposing viewpoints which can lead to conflicts, waste of time, and it may cause damage decisions or the team’s relationships. Collaboration is sometimes problematic, because every profession has its own language and it can lead to misunderstandings. Sometimes the group members use stereotypes and do not understand the value of the other ones skills and knowledge. Everyone should be valued and listened to in the team. The situation where a team member does not feel at ease and is scared to share his or her views may cut down the amount of ideas and expertise that can be crucial for the accomplishment of the project. Due to the differences in skills, interests and trainings, the team members are likely to observe the project or problem from different point of views. The group will think outside the box and that will lead to breakthrough innovations.
Source: IPD Handbook ver1.0
There is a right way and a wrong way to run a brainstorm or ideation meeting. A little preparation is required at the initial stage of the product development. It is very important to separate the two phases. The first part is idea generation when we will use divergent method of thinking. The second part is about idea selection where will use convergent thinking.
The first step of Idea generation using divergent thinking consist of suspend judgment: No one is allowed to criticize or even discuss an idea. As ideas are expressed they are simply recorded. This can be done on post-it, computers, white boards or flip charts but no fault-finding or comments are allowed at this stage to slow down the process of idea flow. Go for quantity instead of quality at this stage: Quantity leads to quality in brainstorms so don’t stop until you have a large number of ideas ‘ usually upto 100 or more. Go beyond reason: Wild ideas are useful because they challenge limits and inflame other fresh ideas. Ride on other people’s Ideas: When one person proposes a inventive concept others should add something on with extensions, alternatives, developments and specific ways to make it occur. Associate with each other’s ideas. Shift people out of routine thinking.