Methods for evaluation of ideas

It is important to clarify why one idea is better than another – is it because it is easy to implement because it solves the problem and is feasible immediately, because it is a unique and new way of solving the problem, or is it because the user will like it, etc.

Start by clustering together ideas that solve the problem in the same way. Evaluate either against the needs you saw earlier in the process or start from an x- and y-axis (x-axis: is resources / easy to implement, y-axis: is idea height / how innovative the idea is).

Another alternative is the “innovation staircase”, where you place ideas on different steps and ask yourself what it takes to possibly lift an idea from one step to another. The innovation staircase should not be seen as a tool for finding out what is right or wrong, but as a method for evaluating where on the ladder an idea is located and thus clarifying the idea’s prerequisites.

Do you already have an idea? Please, contact innovation@mau.se