Brainstorming is Half the Journey
Monday, May 11, 2009 at 09:16PM Liza Bouchard So I had a great conversation with my colleague Matt Cornellabout the tension between divergence vs. convergence.
Divergence: The act of moving away in a different direction from a common point
Convergence: The occurrence of two or more things coming together
So how does this relate to product development? The creative process, of course, starts with brainstorming -- divergence -- as we open our minds to new ideas. While this is a critical step, the development process usually ends here. And with enough time, money and resources all kinds of bad ideas can be executed (like Un-bouncy ping-pong balls, a water proof tea strainer, or a 6 foot bonsai tree.)
Brainstorming is the first half of the journey. The second critical step is editing -- or convergence. And while its necessary to brainstorm big, it's equally necessary to edit those ideas ruthlessly. But that's hard, right? As soon as an idea is out there we own it, we want to see it come to life, we love it. And that's probably when to catch ourselves -- if your idea has a "pet name," its time to start editing. So how to keep the divergence/convergence process in balance?
Here is an experiment... think of a project (or the next project you work on) allow yourself to brainstorm big (divergence). Then move to convergence and think about how to execute the idea with minimal time (a week or two at most) and no money (or a budget of say less than $100 or $500). And see how it affects the choices you make. Were you able to boil the idea down into its purest form and still keep the essence or function in tact?
Or is there an example of a big project you started but, either through choice or necessity, decided to scale back? And how did you do it while still keeping the integrity of the idea?
Come back and share your experiments...
Reader Comments (2)
Great conversation. One aspect I'm thinking about is awareness (knowing which phase you're in) and heuristics for knowing when to move from one/to the other. Also, we need a nonlinear description - journeys, paths, etc. Cycles?
Matt, yes a great point, the convergence/divergence process seems nonlinear, and never in a static place. Awareness is a very important part, yes!