Innovate with Gamestorming

Are you stuck in an innovation rut? Play could be the answer to your next product or service breakthrough.

What’s the big idea?

Gamestorming is a framework for generating ideas. It’s a method to make abstract ideas tangible, to harness collective versus individual intelligence. It uses the concept of games for interactive brainstorming.

Why does it work?

Imaginative discovery is second nature to us as children but as we get older our learning and work environments don’t always support these activities. Like anything else, our imaginations atrophy when we don’t use them. Reconnecting to our creativity through gamestorming is engaging and fun– words rarely used to describe meetings. So once we get the hang of it, we’re more likely to use it. And organizations that can harnesses innovation within their teams, through any means, have an edge at inventing disruptive products and services faster, cheaper, and better than their competition.

Who can use it?

Silicon techies have been using gamestorming techniques since the sixties. (But it wasn’t until co-authors Dave Gray, Sunni Brown, and James Macanufo published Gamestorming that the method had a name.) While the implications seem obvious to technologists, designers, and communicators — anyone that works with information or innovation can benefit from using gamestorming.

What equipment do I need?

All of the games use standard office supplies like Post-its, flip charts, whiteboards, and markers. The Gamestorming book itself has over 200 pages of game ideas and tips but you don’t necessarily need the book to get started since there’s plenty of tips on the Gamestorming blog. (The book is well worth the buy though.)

What games can I use?

The Gamestorming book offers several gaming ideas but you could make variations on any games or create your own. Some of the games highlighted within the book are:

• Bodystorming – players use techniques to roleplay various scenarios.
• Empathy mapping – people map out the thoughts, actions, and feelings of a customer.
• Brainwriting – players silently put ideas to a given challenge on an index card before passing cards onto the next person who then builds upon those ideas.

Dave Gray also shared some tips for facilitating gamestorming at Creative Tampa Bay’s event Staying Relevant:

• When you’re opening the gamestorm, stay loose and ask questions instead of using a formulated agenda.
• While you’re exploring, try to use techniques that keep ideation from being too abstract or too detailed. One trick for keeping people on track — giving red and green cards to each player so they can visually halt or progress a line of thought toward idea bonanzas.
• Try to keep people physically active.
• When you close, focus on what has been accomplished as well as the next steps. To keep ideas flowing and top-of-mind for your next gamestorming, try a wrap-up sketch or video summary.

Related posts:

1. Innovation Wisdom from Creative Tampa Bay
2. Un-consensus for Disruptive Problem-solving
3. Creative Differences: Glue or Chainsaw?
4. Sir Ken Robinson Puts You in Your Element
5. 3 Ingredients for Innovation Teams

Amanda Eyer is a brand strategist with atLarge, Inc., a digital advertising firm that’s guided online strategies for Ford, IMG Academies, J.D. Powers & Associates and more. She has a decade of interactive marketing experience and has worked with non-profits, start-ups and corporations to help them achieve their digital marketing goals.

Published by Amanda Eyer Comments:7 Comments
Published in Business Strategy, Career Development, Creative Economy, Creativity