ideationlisted

# Ideation ## Coverage Ideation covers the techniques that produce many concept variants in response to a well-framed problem, then converge on a subset worth pursuing. The practice has two distinct halves and treats them as separable activities. **Divergent techniques** include **Crazy 8s** (eight sketches in eight minutes, popularized by Google Ventures' Design Sprint), **brainwriting** (silent written generation that bypasses dominant voices), **SCAMPER** (Substitute / Combine / Adapt / Modify / Put-to-another-use / Eliminate / Reverse — Bob Eberle's adaptation of Alex Osborn's checklist), **worst-possible-idea** (deliberately bad concepts to disinhibit and reveal hidden assumptions), **headlines-from-the-future** (write the press release for the launched product), and **analogous inspiration** (how do other domains solve adjacent problems). **Convergent techniques** include **dot voting** (each participant gets N stickers to place on concepts they would invest in), the **NUF test** (Is it New, Useful, Feasible?), **impact / effort 2×2** plotting, **weighted decision matrices** for multi-criteria selection, and **assumption-testing prioritization** (which concepts, if true, would teach the team the most). Convergent methods make the selection criteria explicit before voting begins, so the choice is defensible rather than political. The skill includes the **facilitation mechanics** that keep the two halves separate: enforcing silence during divergent rounds so no idea is