beyond brainstorms: make problem solving fun!

Beyond Brainstorms: Make Problem Solving Fun! PRESENTED BY ALISSA RUEHL & SOPHIA LATTO

Introductions Sophia Latto, Principal Consultant – UX and Design I provide user experience design, user research, and visual design for non-profit websites. Part of diving into website information architecture and design involves leading interactive activities with our client’s constituents and our clients in order to build websites for maximum usability and conversion. Prior to joining Blackbaud, I worked as a Creative Director at a design and marketing agency in New York City. @sophialatto Alissa Ruehl, Sr. User Researcher I am part if the Blackbaud User Experience team where I use creative techniques to dig into the root problems users are trying to solve and test out potential solutions. I like alternating between left brain and right brain activities to facilitate innovation games to look at problems in new ways and pave the way for creative solutions. Prior to joining Blackbaud, I worked in the fields of website user experience and online marketing. @alissaru

2 #bbcon #sophialatto #alissaruehl

What did the dot stickers do?

You just participated in the first problem solving exercise! Why:

•  Make meetings more productive and engaging by determining in which topics the group is most interested.

•  Dot voting is anonymous and can be done as people enter the meeting room, rather than taking up meeting time.

How: 1.  Set up a list of topics that could be discussed in a meeting and

place it near the door of your meeting room. 2.  As each participant walks in, have them place a sticker(s)

next to the subject about which they are most passionate. 3.  The dots are votes. The 2-3 topics with the most dots will

determine your meeting agenda.


•  Think about things in new ways to find creative solutions

•  Understand underlying problems •  Escape from patterns of negativity •  Replace conflict with

understanding •  Connect with your

teammates •  Also, they’re fun!

Why are games important?

Games we might play today.


Image-ination Spark insights and see potential new ideas. Why:

•  To generate new ideas about a topic on which you feel stuck. •  Images have the ability to spark insights and encourage

people to free-associate and see potential new ideas. How:

1.  Assemble a collection of images that do not contain words. 2.  Put a large sheet of paper in the center of the table. In the

center, write out a 1-3 word description of the topic you want to generate new thinking around. (e.g., finding new donors)

3.  Place the cards around the description face down. 4.  Each person at the table randomly selects an image, turns it over and then will

(quickly) come up with as many ideas as possible about how the image relates to the topic. The players will write down each idea on a separate sticky note.

5.  Then the group will look at all the ideas and group them in clusters that relate to each other, and will write a title for each cluster.

6.  Talk about how the titled photos can inform the group’s thinking about the topic. Make a list of possible actions you can take in response.


Players: 5-10 per group Time: 15 min to 1 hour

Circles and Soup Identify what can be done. Why:

•  Focus on achievable solutions rather than the group griping about things that are unsolvable

How: 1.  Everyone writes out problems, or items they

wish could be done, on sticky notes & and places them in the front of the room

2.  Draw three concentric circles on a large sheet of paper & label them “What I can control”, “What I can influence” and “What is beyond my control or influence”

3.  The facilitator pulls a note & the group discusses which circle it belongs in. Continue for all notes.

4.  The group picks 1 or 2 items from the center circle to tackle. 5.  Save the paper for your next meeting. Over time, tackle all of the

items in the center circle. Occasionally pick an item to attempt to influence. Redirect conversations about items in the outer circle, “the soup”

8 #bbcon #sophialatto #alissaruehl W

hat I can Control

What I

can Influence W

hat is beyond

my control or influence

The Economy.

Our 2015 marketing fundingOur

2015 spending

Players: 1-20 Time: 20 min to 1 Hour

Day in the Life Identify opportunities to improve a process. Why:

•  If a process is too complex, takes too long, or no one seems to know how the work gets done, this exercise will help you understand & improve the process

How: 1.  Pick an object to learn about. It could be a report, a

campaign idea, or a direct mail piece. 2.  Pick a starting & ending point & identify major steps

in the process. Put these points on a whiteboard or large paper. 3.  The group then maps the story of this object’s adventure from point A to point Z.

There may be branches, loops & wait times. Use drawings (stick figures, ticking clocks, phones, etc) as well as text. Highlight important areas or pain-points.

4.  Take a photo or record this diagram. 5.  Decide what should be changed & draw a new diagram of how you could

improve the flow


Players: 2-10 Time: 1 to 2 hours

Post-up Generate ideas. Why:

•  Brainstorming ideas is an opening activity, a first step. From there you can further organize and prioritize your thoughts.

How: 1.  Write a question or a topic on a

whiteboard or large sheet of paper. 2.  Ask the players to silently write their

ideas on separate sticky notes. 3.  Provide silence during this activity so

people can think without interruption. 4.  After a set amount of time, ask players to stick their

notes on the whiteboard and quickly present them. 5.  Sort all posted ideas into meaningful topics

and categories. Plan next steps.


Players: 1-20 Time: 10 min to 1 Hour

Q: What are possible uses for (subject)?1) Post and acknowledge all ideas.

2) Sort into meaningful topics or categories.category category category

Games to try with your team.

Pre-Mortem Solve problems that have not yet occurred. Why:

•  Identify potential issues before they happen and figure it how to prevent them from happening.

•  Ask team members to tap into their experience and intuition, at a time when it’s needed most, and is potentially most useful.

How: 1.  A pre-mortem is best conducted at a project

kick-off, with all key team members present and after goals and plans have been laid out.

2.  Write the question “How will this end in disaster?” on a whiteboard.

3.  List all the ways the project can go wrong and list what you could do to keep it from going wrong.

4.  Rank the risks and concerns to determine priority. 5.  Decide what actions need to be taken to address these risks.

Players: Any Time: 30 min to 1 hour

The 5 “Whys”

Get to the root cause Why:

•  Move beyond the surface of a problem and discover the root cause.

•  Examine the underlying reasons and tackle a problem by addressing the source.

How: 1.  Establish a problem your team needs to evaluate. 2.  Write the problem in a visible area so all can see. 3.  Ask “Why?” in response to five consecutive answers.


WHY?

Example of a “Why” Solution Problem: The Lincoln Memorial was crumbling & The National Park Service convened a committee to look into the issue. 1.  Why is it crumbling?

•  Excessive wear from cleaners & high power sprayers. •  Solution – experiment with different cleaners & brushes. •  Didn’t work

2.  Why do we need to clean it so much? •  Excessive bird droppings •  Solution – nets to keep birds out •  Wasn’t effective, and got complaints from tourists

3.  Why do all the birds love Lincoln Memorial? •  Insects swarm & birds eat the insects •  Solution – insecticide •  Wasn’t effective, and got complaints from tourists

4.  Why are there so many insects? •  They swarm at dusk & dawn because of the bright lights

5.  Why are the lights coming on? •  To let tourists appreciate the monument, but preserving it is more important •  Solution – turn on the lights later in the evening & turn them off earlier in the morning

It worked, and actually saved money!


Icebreaker 1 Get to know people. Why:

•  Get to know each other in your group. This breaks the ice and allows for an easier and more enjoyable meeting, training or brainstorming session.

How: 1.  Have people in the group pair up. 2.  Each person in the pair will interview the other for 2 minutes and will pick out

one or two things that are most interesting. 3.  The interviewers will introduce

their person to the group and will tell the group why their person is interesting.


Players: 8-20 Time: 10 to 20 min

?...

Icebreaker 2


Players: 10-30 Time: 20 to 25 min

Build small connections for a team that meets occasionally Why:

•  Get to know each other in your group. This breaks the ice and allows for an easier and more enjoyable meeting, training, or brainstorming session.

How: 1.  Print out papers that list each person in the group with plenty of room to write 2.  For 20 minutes, people should converse & find out 1 memorable fact about each

person on the list & write it down. 3.  Individuals can pick specific facts to share but often end up stumbling onto facts

meaningful to each other as they converse. One person might be interested in where you grew up, another might be more interested in your passion for gardening or favorite sports team.

4.  Optionally, host a quiz at the end. Call on someone to give you their fact for the first person, have that person give their fact for the new person, etc. Often you make additional mental connections in this step. Write them down also!

5.  When you’re done, you have a cheat sheet for future reference.

Predict Next Year’s Headlines Project your organization into the future. Why:

•  These predictions will help you define which issues to pursue in project and goal development.

•  Identify ways to develop and sustain constituent relationships.

How: 1.  Invite 5-10 of your core constituents to a focus group

and ask them to project your organization into the future. 2.  Have the group brainstorm future headlines about your organization. Have them

identify ways they see your mission’s impact evolving and ask them how they might be a part of your mission.

3.  Write each headline on a whiteboard and follow it with 2-3 supporting statements that would be part of the news story.

4.  Record the discussion and whiteboard to review with your team later. 5.  Based on this constituent-focused research, define goals for future growth and

identify ways to develop and sustain constituent relationships.


Players: 5-10 Time: 30 min to 1 hour

Let’s Play Games!!!!

Sources We encourage you to explore ways to problem-solve and innovate further. Below is a list of books we highly recommend and from which this session was based. Have fun!! •  Gamestorming: A Playbook for Innovators, Rulebreakers and

Changemakers by Dave Gray, Sunni Brown and James Macanufo •  Innovation Games: Creating Breakthrough Products Through

Collaborative Play, by Luke Hohmann •  Ideo Method Cards: 51 ways to inspire design. www.ideo.com •  Image on page 5 from “Circle Around” © Copywrite IdeaConnect, LLC

1999-2009 •  The Imag-ination game is based on Picture This! Adapted from the

Visual Icebreaker Kit, one of several image-based games and tools from VisualSpeak, LLC.

•  The Post-up Game is based on the exercises in Rapid Problem Solving with Post-it® Notes by David Straker.



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Learn fun techniques to generate better ideas & more of them. It's like

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