Side-pushing technique

With this one, we generate ideas through associations. The technique is based on 3 sequential steps that help you turn an obvious solution into a creative one. The side-pushing technique consists of three parts:

Finding spontaneous ideas to solve the problem.
Finding symbols and associations caused by a random image, unrelated to the task.
Discovering ideas to solve a problem based on initial suggestions and associations to an image.

It’s good for improving an existing product, creating new products based on actual ones, finding product promotion ideas, and taking a fresh look at routine processes.

We have prepared convenient templates that you can download and use during team brain storming. To use a template, follow the link and click “Use template”:

Create a board on Miro

Prepare a brainstorming template with 7 fields: Warm-up, Given, Spontaneous ideas, Associations to image, Combining initial ideas and associations, Discussion, Further steps.

Formulate the task

Place a photo of an object and the problem to be solved onto the Given field. In addition, choose a colourful, possibly abstract, image and keep it hidden until the beginning of the second step.

Spell out rules for participants

At the beginning of any brainstorming, we pronounce the rules to be followed during the process. There are only 4 of them:

Raise your hand to speak.
Say if you need a break.
Do not let other things distract you during the brainstorming.
All ideas are welcomed. If you want to criticize, suggest something in return.

Do a warm up

The warm-up helps to "wake up" the brain and switch participants from previous tasks to the current one. As a result, the team gets immersed into the process more quickly.

To warm up before this particular brainstorming, the participants create as many ideas to “decode” these acronyms as possible: USSR, MUSHROOM, CALL, CLONE, PLC.

Fill in Spontaneous ideas field

Put down all of the initial ideas suggested to solve the problem.

Collect associations to a hidden image

Open the image and capture all the associations that arise.

Combine spontaneous ideas and associations

Take 3 minutes to review all the stickers in the Spontaneous ideas field and associations to the image.

After that, allocate 10 minutes to generate ideas. Combine your favourite idea and any association, and come up with a solution to the problem based on them. Repeat the algorithm until the time runs out: each time we choose different ideas and associations.

Vote and discuss options

Review the resulting ideas. Everyone chooses and jots down the two ideas that they remember most onto stickers.

Everyone votes: the participants distribute emoji among the stickers and then discuss the results out loud and record new ideas, if any emerge. Each participant has 6 emoji to vote on:

Follow-up

Assign the tasks to the team members; set up a deadline.