IDEA GENERATION: IS ILL-DEFINED BETTER FOR INNOVATION?
Year: 2015
Editor: Guy Bingham, Darren Southee, John McCardle, Ahmed Kovacevic, Erik Bohemia, Brian Parkinson
Author: Tollestrup, Christian; Laursen, Linda Nhu
Series: E&PDE
Institution: 1Aalborg University, Department of Architecture, Design and Media Technology, 2Aalborg University, Centre for Industrial Production
Section: Innovation
Page(s): 438-443
ISBN: 978-1-904670-62-9
Abstract
It is well known that designers can tackle ill-defined and wicked problems with no apparent right
solution [1] as opposed to well-defined problems with a single answer. So in Industrial Design
Engineering education we focus on teaching students how to approach and deal with wicked problems
without necessarily reflecting on what happens if they do not use this approach and when is the
approach irrelevant. It is such in intrinsic part of the Design Thinking approach it is hardly questioned,
nor clear in terms of influence on the result of ideation.
So to what extent does it influence the outcome of an idea generation whether the outset is ill defined
and questioned as opposed to straightforward ideation on a proposal for a solution?
This paper discusses the results of an experiment with 32 students on idea generation and product
concept development. The experiment was setup as and A-B comparison between two set of students
with the same objective: designing a new coffee machine for a specific brand, but one group was
asked to seek ambiguity and dissonance before creating proposals. Results indicate a very clear
difference in the outcome in terms of radical changes in relation to. Group A produced 12 out of 16
proposals in the Styling category, whereas Group B only had 1 of 16 in this category.
The interesting aspects discussed in terms of Industrial Design Engineering education are: Is the deep
and questioning ideation, radical innovation and conceptualization always relevant for all stages and
assignments and should straightforward conceptualization be used more deliberately to increase
students skills in assignments they will face in their professional career?
Keywords: Ill-defined, idea generation, conceptualization