Mid Semester Break - Capstone

What If? - D4G Methodology

Week’s Focus: Brainstorming and Developing Concepts

Description:

At the start of the break, I began brainstorming outcome ideas. Following the advice from the Designing for Growth Field Book, I generated as many creative ideas as possible without judgment or filtering. I created a variety of ideas, using short descriptive titles for each so I wouldn’t spend too much time visualizing them all in detail. Over the first week, I continued adding to this list and later culled it to develop more refined concepts.

To further enhance creativity, I used the forced connections activity from the Designing for Growth Field Book. This method involves combining two unrelated concepts to generate new insights and solutions. From this process, I created twenty-seven individual concepts and narrowed them down to eight developed forced connections. Eventually, I chose the most promising one and developed a napkin pitch for an open mic panel discussion event, which I named the Faith & Inclusion Forum.

Feelings:

I felt a mix of excitement and uncertainty during this phase. On one hand, the process of generating a wide range of ideas was exciting, allowing me to think outside the box. On the other hand, narrowing down those ideas to more developed concepts was challenging, and I was uncertain if I was choosing the best direction. The task of filtering ideas felt more demanding than expected, as I wanted to ensure that I wasn't discarding any potential solutions too early.

Evaluation:

What worked well was applying the Designing for Growth Field Book's advice to brainstorm freely, without immediate judgment. This approach helped me to expand my thinking and generate diverse ideas. The forced connections activity was particularly effective in pushing my creativity further, helping me come up with unexpected and innovative solutions. However, the process of filtering and narrowing down ideas took more time and effort than I anticipated. While it helped me focus on the most promising options, it also made me more aware of the complexities involved in selecting the right ideas.

Analysis:

Upon reflecting, I realise that the initial stage of free-form brainstorming was crucial in allowing me to explore a wide range of possibilities without limitations. This set the foundation for innovative thinking and opened up new directions that I might not have considered otherwise. The forced connections activity was especially valuable, as it encouraged me to combine concepts in novel ways, resulting in fresh insights. However, this process also made me more aware of the challenge in balancing creativity with practicality—narrowing down and refining ideas requires a careful evaluation of both their feasibility and their alignment with my project’s goals.

Conclusion:

This week taught me that allowing space for broad, creative thinking is vital to uncovering innovative solutions. The forced connections activity was instrumental in pushing the boundaries of my creativity. However, I also learned that narrowing down ideas requires just as much strategic thinking as the initial brainstorming. Moving forward, I need to ensure that I not only generate creative ideas but also manage the time and energy needed to develop and refine those ideas effectively.

Action Plan:

In the coming weeks, I will continue using creative brainstorming techniques like forced connections to generate and refine my concepts. I’ll also work on better managing the idea selection process, allowing for thorough evaluation without letting it become too time-consuming. I plan to further develop the Faith & Inclusion Forum idea, starting with the napkin pitch, and build it into a more detailed concept as I progress with my project.

[Figure 1: Brainstormed Outcomes. My Miro]

[Figure 2: Forced Connections. My Miro]

[Figure 3: Napkin Pitch Template filled out, D4G Field Book Liedtka et al. (2019)]