Ideatsioon

Ideatsioon is the cognitive process of generating, developing, and communicating ideas to address a question or problem, often in a collaborative setting. It emphasizes divergent thinking to produce a wide set of possibilities, followed by convergent thinking to refine into viable concepts.

In design thinking and product development, ideatsioon is a distinct phase typically following problem framing and preceding prototyping. It aims to expand the solution space before evaluation and selection. Etymology: the Estonian term is derived from ide (idea) with the suffix -atsioon, and is cognate with English ideation.

Common methods include structured brainstorming, brainwriting, mind mapping, SCAMPER, and the 6-3-5 method; digital whiteboards and ideation software are often used. Sessions focus on psychological safety, equal participation, and time-boxed activities to maximize creativity.

Applications span business strategy, product and service design, marketing campaigns, urban planning, education, and policy design. Benefits include broader option sets, early risk identification, and stakeholder alignment; challenges include groupthink, dominance, and evaluation bias, which can be mitigated by clear facilitation, defined criteria, and iterative refinement.

Ideatsioon is central to design thinking as the core creative phase. In education, it supports creative problem solving and innovation literacy.