Generating Solutions
Generating solutions is the process of creating, identifying, or discovering new or improved ways to solve problems or address needs within a product or service development context. It involves the collaborative effort of cross-functional teams to innovate and devise strategies that meet or exceed customer expectations and business goals.
Purpose
We need to turn all of the insights that we have generated into actionable solutions that meet both user needs and business objectives. Generating solutions as a team ensures that we are leveraging the diverse perspectives and expertise of the team to create innovative and effective solutions as well as fostering buy-in for the solutions that we are going to build.
Context
Industry Context
Most software fails to deliver on the expected value. We jump to solutions far too quickly without adequately understanding the problem or exploring alternative approaches. This is why generating solutions is a critical part of the product development process.
ZeroBlockers Context
Teams are accountable for outcomes, not just outputs. This means that they need to be able to generate solutions that customers really want because, unless customers want it, it doesn't matter how well it aligns with the business goals.
ZeroBlockers Practices
| Method | Description | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Ideation Sessions | Structured sessions to generate a wide range of ideas and solutions to address specific user needs, problems, or opportunities. |
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Other Practices
| Method | Description | ZeroBlockers Opinion |
|---|---|---|
| Design Sprints | A structured process for rapidly generating, prototyping, and testing ideas with users to validate and refine potential solutions. | Design Sprints are great when working in a more traditional functional model as it simulates how a cross-functional team would work together. However, we already have empowered Stream Teams in the ZeroBlockers framework so we don't need to simulate this: this is how teams work. |
| Hackathons | Time-bound events where teams come together to generate and prototype new ideas or solutions. | Hackathons are great for generating a lot of ideas quickly but, again, these are better suited to traditional Scrum or Waterfall teams. In ZeroBlockers, teams can generate ideas and solutions as part of their normal work. |
| Open Innovation | Collaborating with external partners, customers, or the broader community to generate new ideas and solutions. | Open Innovation is a great way to get a fresh perspective on a problem but it can be time-consuming and difficult to manage. It is a great option but to start with we recommend that teams focus on generating solutions internally and then validating them with customers. |
Anti-patterns
- Solution Bias: Jumping to solutions without fully understanding the problem or considering alternative approaches.
- Echo Chamber: Generating solutions in a vacuum without seeking diverse perspectives or user feedback.
- Over-engineering: Creating overly complex solutions that do not effectively address the user's needs or contribute to the product's value.
- Analysis Paralysis: Getting stuck in the ideation phase without moving forward to prototyping and testing.
Case Studies
Innovative Solution Generation: Think Bigger, Fail Quickly
How Ripple's adoption of structured ideation and prototyping processes led to innovative solutions and rapid improvement cycles.
Ripple
Boosting Product Innovation with Design Sprints
How Flipkart leveraged design sprints to enhance product innovation and improve the quality of their offerings.
Flipkart
Accelerating Innovation with Design Sprints
How General Assembly adopted design sprints to accelerate innovation and improve product development outcomes.
General Assembly