The 'Relay Ideation' Technique: Moving from Problem Understanding to Problem Solving in the Design Process

When describing the design process in product innovation, many authors identify phases that can be described as ‘problem analysis’ and ‘generating ideas’. Several techniques are available to support design teams in each of these phases, but it remains a challenge to move from understanding a problem to coming up with ideas for concepts that might solve the problem. In addition, some of these techniques have counterproductive social side effects, which in fact may impede creativity in a design team. In this paper we describe a new technique for product idea generation called the ‘relay ideation’ technique. This technique was developed to help design teams move from understanding a problem to thinking creatively and concretely about the problem in order to generate concepts for innovative products or services. The technique is illustrated with a case study about IT applications for hearing-impaired children.

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