The creative process
The creative process is a psycho -sociological processes leading to a production considered creative, innovative and inventive . This process can be seen as :
- a sequence of steps (eg . intial insight , saturation, incubation , illumination or » Eureka » and verification)
- an alternate between different ways of thinking (eg . divergent / convergent ) .
Creative process can be individual or collective (in small groups ) .
There are several models of the creative process . We will propose, as an introduction to those process , to use a simple creative process inspired by the process of improvised creativity for organizations created by Fisher and Amabile (2009).
3 simultaneous stages
On this simple creative process , the 3 stages of the process are carried out almost simultaneously. The stages are:
- Analyze the problem
- Generate ideas
- Find the solution
Those 3 stages are carried out in a fluid manner , in a process that progress from one stage to another, continuously until the completion of a definitive answer that will be YOUR SOLUTION to the problem defined and the output of this process.
It’s so SIMPLE : it’s almost intuitive.
So why use it? This creative process will force you to work ALL on the same stage at the same time . It may seem simplistic , but it is not. We found that in most teams ideation working session, members don’t work on the same stage when they should. Some members seek to define the problem, while others are already looking for ideas even if the problem is not clearly define: there are even those who begin by finding the solution … You can understand that this is not very effective.
While using this process, make sure that the whole group is working on the same stage at the same time whatever the stage you’re doing. It is not necessary to do those 3 stages one after the other (except for the analysis of the problem thet we recommend you to do first ) but it is important to know what stage you work on.