Activity 3
Divergent Thinking
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For this activity, we tested our divergent thinking skills by putting out a wide range of ideas in a broader perspective. In class, we engaged in a problem-solving exercise using the How Might We (HMW) framework. The first step was to choose an HMW question, based off of our professors problem, regarding how she doesn't have the motivation/time to prepare healthy meals.
Next, we practiced divergent thinking by generating as many ideas as possible. Several problem solving methods which we learned in class were used:
For this activity, we engaged in a few different brainstorming techniques, including rapid ideation and purposely coming up with bad ideas. I found that rapid ideation was especially useful in helping us generate as many ideas as possible, regardless of their quality. This approach allowed us to get all of our initial thoughts out and even led to new ideas by building off of what we came up with and combining them into larger concepts.
Listing bad ideas, while not directly useful for our final solutions, served as a helpful icebreaker. It helped us feel more comfortable sharing our thoughts and ideas and overall made it easier to refine and improve upon the ideas we had already considered.
Looking back, I think we could have spent more time expanding on the ideas we developed instead of just listing them. Also, we could have focused more on the HMW question itself rather than getting caught up in the broader problem, ensuring our solutions directly addressed the challenge at hand.
