09. Ideatoons

• Document the Topic - the "Challenge"
• Draw a picture for each Key Attributes
• Place all the Cards in a Working Area
• Try to force new Relationships or Links
• Continue to draw new Ideatoons if needed
• Attempt to articulate a Result

COMMENTARY

Strengths and Weaknesses: The strength of this technique is that it forces meeting participants to think visually. Since we are so used to 'thinking' our way out of problems, this opens doors to new solutions.

The weakness of this technique is most likely that it can be very time consuming for a group. It is recommended that this technique is used primarily on simpler problems that require truly innovative, creative solutions. Using the technique to think through a tax table update for the payroll system would probably not be appropriate.

Resources:

This technique is based upon the work of Michael Michaiko and can be read about in his book Thinkertoys.

More Detail . . .