Situation Template & Idea Catcher

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Type
Creativity tool – Useful for problem definition and idea gathering

How many people can use it?
Good for groups of 4

Setup
Download, print and it’s ready to use

Tags
Define, explore, detail, ideation

Related tools
Inspiration cards, Context Map, Entity cards

Download

[su_tooltip style=”bootstrap” position=”south” content=”This is free to mix up and reuse!”][/su_tooltip]

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What is it?

This tool is a way to identify and define problems within a domain, it helps participants to think about the cause and effect and the perceived problems in both a sensory and emotive way. The ‘idea catcher’ is used through a session to ‘catch’ ideas as they come.

Situations are typically problems or negative scenarios that could be improved, it should also be used to define positive situations that should happen more.

Why use it?

This template helps separate the problem definition and ideation phases, whilst also distinctly connecting ideas that might be generated for a specific problem. Much inspiration from the double-diamond method drives the technique used here.

When should it be used?

Use it when you need a way to get consensus on the most important problems and write them down in a way everyone can agree on. The idea catcher then allows everyone to have their say and add their own ideas.

How to use

Use this template to identify and write down important situations that are being discussed and further explain the results in a detailed way.

The perception of the situation is also noted to capture the contextual information. This later helps the prototyping and technical phases to think about sensors that could be used to help track and monitor the situation.

After a situation has been defined, stick this template to a wall or whiteboard and further add ideas which relate to the situation.

With a range of separate situations it’s easy to to carry ideation tasks which can easily relate to each situation.