Brainstorming new ideas
My high school teacher, Mrs. Henry, would always tell me that I’m a person with “ideas”.
Looking back, I’m not sure whether this was a compliment or a reflection of my proclivity for daydreaming and never getting anything done in class 🤔🤔
Fast forwarding to today, I love tinkering with new products that get people excited and…dare I say…make the world a better place?
*cue dramatic music*
But along with tinkering, I also find myself constantly coming up with new ideas for how to improve the software we use everyday. Many times, you’ll even find me pitching friends and getting their input:
Now as a disclaimer…a lot of my early ideas end up being pretty bad 😂! But I don’t mind because I’ve learned that throwing darts at the dartboard before you hit your bullseye is a foundational part of innovation.
To me, brainstorming new ideas if a non-linear process. It often includes a lot of failure and refinement where you try your best not to fall in love with your initial idea so you can keep iterating on it. You owe it to yourself to swing big by not being scared of people telling you that your *initial* idea is stupid — because it often is anyways.
Over the past years, I’ve switched to product management. It’s a finicky role where I often rely on my product sense to think strategically about whatever I’m working on. I’ve made this doc to outline some of the pointers I continuously reference whenever I’m brainstorming on my own.
For those doing PM interviews, this doc can be especially helpful when answering product design questions where you’re required to come up with creative ideas on the spot.
LMK what you think by sliding into my DMs on Twitter @davidfromkansas 😁
Consider the different possible users
Think of any piece of software you use. There may very well be millions of people from around the world using the exact same UI that you are! Every user has different needs, pain points, and jobs-to-be-done when they login.
Consider putting yourself in the shoes of others and re-evaluating whether other people use the app in the same way that you do [spoiler: they don’t]. Or, what if a certain subset of users has a very specific need that hasn’t been met yet? There are always new ways that companies can keep catering to their many different users’ infinite needs~
For example, tech companies often overlook making software accessible for those with disabilities. What are features you currently use that might be cumbersome for those who are deaf or blind? Or how about those who are color-blind or have trouble focusing?
Checkout how Apple helps the visually impaired use iOS -> Video
Creating face masks for deaf people -> Tweet
Research competitors
Look “around” and you’ll notice that there isn’t just ONE music streaming app or a SINGLE way to meet your future partner online. Nearly every app and website you use has a close competitor that offers a similar service or value proposition. The way these competing products may differ is by creating new features that others don’t have, making the user experience extremely easy to use, and much more.
Consider examining the apps you use in your daily life and learning about what their competitors do. What does this competitor do better than your own app? What do they do worse? Think about what lessons you can learn from an app’s competitor and envision how you can bring these insights to improve the app you originally use!
…remember how Instagram added “stories” to their own platform? Snapchat remembers 😉
Figure out the story+values behind the product
Every team behind a product has a compelling mission statement, followed by a set of core values, that they use as a guide for building out their new features. This all may sound corny…but getting at the core of what a company cares about the most will ground your ideas in reality as something they might actually build one day!
For example, Twitter’s mission statement is to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly without barriers. To accomplish this mission, Twitter values healthy and safe conversations online so everybody can be empowered to use the platform without fear of hurting their personal wellbeing
This core value of promoting healthy conversation has led Twitter to build new features such as prompting users to read news articles before retweeting and choosing who can reply to your tweets.
Don’t reinvent the wheel
Aside from imagining new features from scratch, try considering what already exists and how it can be improved!
While you examine various parts of an app, consider the intended goal behind a given feature and whether that goal is being accomplished effectively. For example, let’s say you’ve opened a restaurant’s menu on UberEats and are having trouble using it to find local Szechuan restaurants in your area. Assuming the goal of this UI is to help users find relevant restaurants, how could you redesign this area to better solve for the users’ needs?
Perhaps there are exciting features in an app that are being underutilized. What a tragedy! This can happen for many reasons. Is it difficult for users to find? Maybe the feature is “surfaced” at the wrong part of the user journey? Or perhaps the feature itself is really confusing/difficult to use? Think about how you can use design to drive more usage for specific parts of an app.
Remember: bad things can always be made good, while even good features can be made great!
Read the “room”
At the time of writing this article, there’s A LOT happening in the world right now.
From a global pandemic that perpetuates inequality to the Black Community fighting for their basic right to live, you MUST always think about the context that surrounds your ideas.
For example, Snapchat released a new filter for Juneteenth that prompts users to “smile” in order to break the chains of oppression. Having empathy and understanding for why and how your ideas can be abused or misconstrued is vital to making sure that a bad idea isn’t TERRIBLE.
In addition to using your understanding of the world to vet your ideas, you can also use it as an inspiration to cater to people’s new preferences and more immediate needs.
For example, many professionals on LinkedIn have been speaking out about racism in the workplace and not being allowed to bring their true selves to work. In response, LinkedIn now shows “Black voices to follow and amplify” in your suggestions and lets you upload audio clips of how to pronounce your name!
Another example is the rise of Netflix Party during a time when we can no longer hangout IRL. It’s a chrome extension that allows you to watch Netflix together with your friends and provide commentary in real-time! Hulu caught on to this and already made this a native feature in their own service.
Your move, Netflix…
Fin.
Ideas alone aren’t enough. They’re best served with a compelling story that evokes certain emotions and shows others how you empathize with the problems they may be facing.
All of these nuggets of wisdom are aimed at helping you find such a story and later bring it to life~
*Whispers in microphone* …”Yeah, uh thanks for coming to my TED talk!”
