The Ideas Parking Lot technique is a strategic tool used to capture, organize, and prioritize ideas generated during brainstorming sessions or meetings. It provides a structured approach for managing a diverse range of ideas and ensuring that valuable insights are not lost or overlooked.
The Ideas Parking Lot technique begins with the collection of ideas generated during brainstorming sessions or discussions.
Participants contribute their ideas, suggestions, or insights on a given topic or problem, which are recorded on a flipchart, whiteboard, or digital platform.
Categorization and Organization:
As ideas are generated, they are categorized and organized based on themes, topics, or relevance.
Facilitators or participants may group similar ideas together to identify common themes or patterns and streamline the organization process.
Parking Lot Repository:
Ideas that are not immediately relevant to the current discussion are “parked” in a designated repository known as the Ideas Parking Lot.
The parking lot serves as a temporary storage space for ideas that may be revisited or explored at a later time.
Regular Review and Evaluation:
Throughout the meeting or brainstorming session, facilitators periodically review the ideas parked in the Ideas Parking Lot.
Participants may revisit parked ideas, discuss their potential merits or feasibility, and decide whether to integrate them back into the main discussion or pursue them further in subsequent sessions.
Implications of the Ideas Parking Lot Technique
Idea Preservation: The Ideas Parking Lot technique ensures that all ideas generated during brainstorming sessions are captured and preserved for future consideration.
Focus and Efficiency: By parking ideas that are not immediately relevant, the technique helps maintain focus and streamline discussions, ensuring that the main objectives of the meeting or session are addressed.
Continuous Improvement: Regular review and evaluation of parked ideas enable participants to identify new opportunities, refine existing concepts, and drive continuous improvement in decision-making and problem-solving processes.
Use Cases and Examples
Product Development Meetings:
Product development teams use the Ideas Parking Lot technique to capture ideas for new features, enhancements, or product improvements.
Ideas related to customer feedback, market trends, or technological advancements are parked for further evaluation and prioritization by the team.
Strategic Planning Workshops:
During strategic planning workshops, organizations use the Ideas Parking Lot technique to gather input from stakeholders on strategic goals, initiatives, or priorities.
Ideas related to organizational growth, competitive positioning, or risk management are parked for review by senior leadership or strategy teams.
Strategies for Implementing the Ideas Parking Lot Technique
To effectively implement the Ideas Parking Lot technique, consider the following strategies:
Clear Documentation:
Ensure that all ideas generated during the meeting or brainstorming session are clearly documented and recorded in the Ideas Parking Lot.
Use a visible and accessible format, such as a whiteboard or digital collaboration tool, to capture and organize ideas in real-time.
Regular Review Sessions:
Schedule regular review sessions during the meeting or at designated intervals to revisit and evaluate parked ideas.
Encourage participants to actively engage in the review process, share their perspectives, and contribute to the decision-making process.
Actionable Follow-Up:
Identify actionable follow-up steps for parked ideas that have potential for further exploration or implementation.
Assign responsibility for follow-up actions to specific individuals or teams and establish timelines for completion to ensure accountability and progress.
Benefits of the Ideas Parking Lot Technique
Idea Preservation: The technique ensures that all ideas generated during brainstorming sessions are captured and preserved for future consideration.
Focus and Efficiency: By parking ideas that are not immediately relevant, the technique helps maintain focus and streamline discussions, ensuring that the main objectives of the meeting or session are addressed.
Continuous Improvement: Regular review and evaluation of parked ideas enable participants to identify new opportunities, refine existing concepts, and drive continuous improvement in decision-making and problem-solving processes.
Challenges of the Ideas Parking Lot Technique
Idea Overload: Managing a large volume of ideas in the parking lot can be overwhelming, making it challenging to prioritize and evaluate them effectively.
Risk of Forgetting: There is a risk that ideas parked in the Ideas Parking Lot may be forgotten or overlooked if not reviewed and evaluated regularly.
Lack of Action: Without clear follow-up actions and accountability mechanisms, parked ideas may languish in the parking lot without being implemented or acted upon.
Conclusion
The Ideas Parking Lot technique is a valuable tool for capturing, organizing, and prioritizing ideas generated during brainstorming sessions or meetings. By providing a structured approach for idea management and ensuring that valuable insights are not lost or overlooked, the technique facilitates innovation, creativity, and continuous improvement in decision-making processes. While the technique offers numerous benefits, including idea preservation, focus, and efficiency, it also presents challenges related to idea overload, risk of forgetting, and lack of action.
Technique
Description
When to Apply
Mind Mapping
Visualizes ideas and their relationships.
When exploring connections between ideas.
Brainwriting
Silent brainstorming where participants write down ideas.
When you want to encourage individual input without group influence.
SCAMPER
Modifies existing ideas through Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, Reverse.
When you need structured creativity to improve or change an idea.
Round-Robin Brainstorming
Participants take turns contributing ideas.
When ensuring equal participation in idea generation.
Affinity Diagrams
Groups ideas into categories for analysis.
When organizing a large number of ideas into meaningful categories.
SWOT Analysis
Identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
When assessing strategic position and opportunities.
Fishbone Diagram (Ishikawa)
Identifies root causes of problems.
When solving complex problems by tracing causes.
Six Thinking Hats
Examines ideas from multiple perspectives.
When needing a comprehensive evaluation of an idea.
Brainstorming Sessions
Group activity to generate ideas.
When needing to generate a wide range of ideas quickly.
Rapid Ideation
Generates ideas quickly under time constraints.
When time is limited and you need a burst of creativity.
Idea Board
Visual display of ideas for collaboration.
When needing a central place to gather and refine ideas.
Random Word Association
Uses random words to trigger new ideas.
When stuck in conventional thinking patterns.
Brainstorming Web
Connects related ideas visually.
When exploring the relationships between different ideas.
Reverse Brainstorming
Focuses on how to cause a problem instead of solving it.
When needing to identify potential pitfalls or weaknesses in an idea.
Gap Analysis
Identifies gaps between current and desired states.
When assessing the current situation against goals.
Wishing Technique
Participants wish for ideal outcomes.
When looking for aspirational and innovative ideas.
Concept Fan
Expands on an initial idea to generate more ideas.
When needing to deepen or broaden an initial concept.
Question Storming
Generates questions to uncover new ideas.
When needing to explore a problem deeply through questioning.
Starbursting
Explores an idea through questions starting with Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How.
When needing a thorough examination of an idea from all angles.
Trigger Method
Uses triggers to spark new ideas.
When needing external stimuli to generate ideas.
Lotus Blossom Technique
Expands on core ideas by surrounding them with related ideas.
When needing to develop a central idea in detail.
Idea Box (Morphological Analysis)
Combines different parameters to generate ideas.
When needing to explore all possible combinations of factors.
Crawford’s Slip Writing
Participants write down ideas anonymously.
When needing to gather uninfluenced and honest ideas from participants.
Nominal Group Technique
Structured method for group brainstorming.
When requiring structured and equal participation from all group members.
Disney Creative Strategy
Uses three roles: Dreamer, Realist, and Critic.
When needing to refine ideas by looking at them from different perspectives.
BRAIN
Blueprint, Random connections, Assimilate, Integrate, New thinking.
When needing a structured approach to creative problem-solving.
Attribute Listing
Lists attributes of a problem and explores variations.
When needing to dissect and innovate on a specific aspect of a problem.
Analogies and Metaphors
Uses analogies to generate new ideas.
When needing to think about problems in a new and unfamiliar way.
Collaborative Brainwriting
Participants build on each other’s ideas in writing.
When encouraging collaborative idea development without verbal discussion.
Dot Voting
Participants vote on the best ideas using dots.
When needing to prioritize ideas quickly and democratically.
Forced Connections
Combines unrelated concepts to generate new ideas.
When needing to break free from conventional thinking patterns.
Negative Brainstorming
Focuses on what not to do.
When needing to identify risks and potential pitfalls.
Freewriting
Writes continuously to generate ideas.
When needing to bypass internal filters and generate raw ideas.
Crowdsourcing
Collects ideas from a large group of people.
When needing a wide range of ideas from a diverse group.
Idea Lottery
Randomly selects and combines ideas.
When needing to combine elements in unexpected ways to generate new ideas.
Whiteboarding
Uses a whiteboard to visualize and connect ideas.
When needing a collaborative space for group idea generation.
Bodystorming
Acts out scenarios to generate ideas.
When needing to physically engage with a problem to generate ideas.
Role Storming
Participants assume different roles to generate ideas.
When needing to see a problem from various perspectives.
Group Passing Technique
Each participant adds to the previous idea.
When needing collaborative idea building with a structured process.
Storyboarding
Visualizes ideas in a sequential format.
When needing to communicate and develop ideas through a narrative.
Mind Scripting
Writes scripts to explore different scenarios.
When needing to explore and develop ideas through detailed scenarios.
Idea Ranking
Ranks ideas based on criteria.
When needing to prioritize ideas based on their potential impact and feasibility.
Circle of Opportunity
Uses a circular diagram to explore ideas.
When needing to visualize and connect various opportunities.
Problem Reversal
Reverses the problem to find new solutions.
When needing to think about a problem from a completely different angle.
Word Storming
Focuses on key words to generate ideas.
When needing to generate ideas centered around specific terms or concepts.
Concept Mapping
Visualizes relationships between concepts.
When needing to explore and understand the connections between various ideas.
Hexagonal Thinking
Uses hexagons to connect ideas.
When needing to visually and spatially organize and connect ideas.
Idea Speed Dating
Pairs participants to rapidly exchange ideas.
When needing quick and varied input from multiple participants.
Empathy Mapping
Uses empathy to understand user needs and generate ideas.
When needing to generate ideas that are deeply rooted in user needs and perspectives.
Visioning
Imagines future scenarios to generate ideas.
When needing to think long-term and generate aspirational ideas.
Divergent Thinking
Generates many different ideas.
When needing a broad range of ideas and solutions.
Convergent Thinking
Narrows down ideas to the best ones.
When needing to refine and select the best ideas from a large pool.
User Stories
Creates user scenarios to generate ideas.
When needing to develop ideas based on specific user needs and experiences.
Customer Journey Mapping
Visualizes customer experiences to find opportunities.
When needing to identify pain points and opportunities within the customer journey.
Action Priority Matrix
Prioritizes ideas based on impact and effort.
When needing to focus on the most impactful and feasible ideas.
Thought Experiment
Explores ideas through hypothetical scenarios.
When needing to test and explore ideas in a safe, theoretical context.
Pre-Mortem Analysis
Anticipates potential failures to improve ideas.
When needing to identify and address potential risks before implementation.
Brain-netting
Conducts brainstorming sessions online.
When needing to collaborate and generate ideas remotely.
Painstorming
Focuses on pain points to generate ideas.
When needing to address and solve specific problems or challenges.
Idea Splicing
Combines parts of different ideas to create new ones.
When needing to innovate by merging existing concepts.
Socratic Questioning
Uses deep questioning to generate ideas.
When needing to explore ideas through rigorous and thoughtful questioning.
Five Whys
Asks “why” five times to get to the root cause of a problem.
When needing to uncover the underlying causes of a problem.
Innovation Tournament
Competes to generate the best ideas.
When needing a competitive element to drive idea generation and refinement.
SWOT Brainstorming
Combines SWOT analysis with brainstorming.
When needing to assess and generate ideas based on internal and external factors.
Idea Matrix
Organizes ideas into a matrix for evaluation.
When needing to systematically evaluate and compare ideas.
Brainwriting Pool
Collects written ideas in a pool for group discussion.
When needing to gather and pool ideas for collective evaluation and discussion.
Innovation Sprint
Short, focused sessions to generate ideas.
When needing rapid and intense idea generation and development.
Role Play Brainstorming
Uses role play to generate ideas.
When needing to understand and generate ideas from different perspectives.
Chunking
Breaks down problems into smaller parts to generate ideas.
When needing to manage and solve complex problems by addressing smaller components.
Opportunity Mind Map
Maps opportunities visually.
When needing to visualize and explore various opportunities.
Sailboat Retrospective
Uses a sailboat metaphor to reflect and generate ideas.
When needing a creative and engaging way to reflect on progress and generate new ideas.
Idea Journaling
Keeps a journal to capture and develop ideas.
When needing to continuously capture and refine ideas over time.
Affinity Mapping
Groups similar ideas together.
When needing to organize and make sense of a large number of ideas.
Futurism
Envisions future possibilities to generate ideas.
When needing to think ahead and generate ideas based on future trends and scenarios.
Customer Feedback Analysis
Uses customer feedback to generate ideas.
When needing to generate ideas based on actual customer insights and experiences.
Business Model Canvas
Maps business components to find opportunities.
When needing to explore and innovate on business models.
Lean Canvas
Simplifies the business model canvas for rapid idea generation.
When needing a quick and efficient way to develop and test business ideas.
Problem Framing
Reframes problems to generate new ideas.
When needing to see problems in a new light to find innovative solutions.
Lightning Decision Jam
Rapidly generates and decides on ideas.
When needing quick and actionable ideas with immediate decision-making.
Ethnographic Research
Observes users to generate ideas.
When needing deep and contextual insights into user behavior and needs.
Idea Tournament
Competes to refine and select the best ideas.
When needing a structured competition to drive innovation and idea selection.
SWOT Workshop
Conducts workshops combining SWOT and brainstorming.
When needing to integrate strategic analysis with creative idea generation.
Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
Analyzes failures to generate improvement ideas.
When needing to proactively identify and mitigate potential failures.
Analogical Thinking
Uses analogies to generate ideas.
When needing to leverage similarities between different concepts to generate new ideas.
Interactive Brainstorming
Uses interactive tools to facilitate brainstorming.
When needing dynamic and engaging methods to generate ideas.
Stakeholder Brainstorming
Engages stakeholders in idea generation.
When needing input and buy-in from various stakeholders.
Idea Parking Lot
Keeps a list of ideas for future consideration.
When needing to capture and save ideas that cannot be addressed immediately.
Strategic Brainstorming
Focuses brainstorming on strategic goals.
When needing to align idea generation with long-term strategic objectives.
Productive Thinking Model
Uses structured thinking to generate ideas.
When needing a systematic approach to creative problem-solving.
Opportunity Canvas
Focuses on opportunities within the business model.
When needing to identify and develop new business opportunities.
Conceptual Blockbusting
Overcomes mental blocks to generate ideas.
When needing to break through creative barriers and generate fresh ideas.
Hybrid Brainstorming
Combines different brainstorming techniques.
When needing to leverage multiple methods for diverse idea generation.
Challenge Mapping
Maps challenges to find solutions.
When needing to understand and address specific challenges in detail.
Design Charrette
Intensive planning session to generate ideas.
When needing a focused and collaborative effort to solve a design problem.
Braintrust Sessions
Uses a trusted group to generate and refine ideas.
When needing expert input and collaboration for idea refinement.
Value Proposition Canvas
Develops value propositions through brainstorming.
When needing to create and refine value propositions for products or services.
Innovation Jam
Intensive, collaborative brainstorming sessions.
When needing a concentrated burst of creativity and idea generation.
Delphi Method
Uses expert consensus to generate ideas.
When needing to leverage expert knowledge and consensus for idea generation.
Creative Problem Solving (CPS)
Structured process for generating ideas.
When needing a step-by-step approach to solve complex problems creatively.
World Café
Facilitates large group brainstorming through roundtable discussions.
When needing to engage a large group in collaborative idea generation.
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Gennaro is the creator of FourWeekMBA, which reached about four million business people, comprising C-level executives, investors, analysts, product managers, and aspiring digital entrepreneurs in 2022 alone | He is also Director of Sales for a high-tech scaleup in the AI Industry | In 2012, Gennaro earned an International MBA with emphasis on Corporate Finance and Business Strategy.
