Innovation Workshop
Frame the problem, understand user needs, generate diverse ideas, select the most promising concepts, and plan concrete test experiments.
Session
Innovation Workshop
Frame the user problem, explore needs, generate concepts, select promising ideas, and define experiments to test them.
Facilitator guide
Set the context, then invite each participant to share their top priority before opening discussion.
Step 2 of 4 · 18 min left
Decisions & next steps
Overview
Frame the user problem, explore needs, generate concepts, select promising ideas, and define experiments to test them.
Expected outcome: Selected concepts, experiment plan, owners, assumptions to test, and next validation steps..
When to use it
- Creating new concepts
- Testing a new product direction
- Generating breakthrough ideas
Who should attend
Innovation lead, product team, a customer expert, a designer and stakeholders.
Preparation checklist
- Prepare user insights or research
- Frame the problem clearly
- Agree success criteria for concepts
Example agenda outline
- 0:00–0:25
User problem framing
Define the problem from the user view.
- 0:25–0:50
Insight review
Share relevant user insights.
- 0:50–1:20
Idea generation
Diverge widely on possible concepts.
- 1:20–1:35
Break
- 1:35–2:10
Concept clustering and selection
Cluster and choose promising concepts.
- 2:10–2:40
Experiment design
Design tests for the selected concepts.
- 2:40–3:00
Owner assignment
Assign owners and validation steps.
Facilitation tips
- Protect divergent thinking before converging
- Ground ideas in real user insights
- Turn concepts into testable experiments
Common risks
- Falling in love with the first idea
- No connection to user needs
- No owner to run experiments
Expected outcome
Selected concepts, an experiment plan, owners, assumptions to test and next validation steps.
Use the Innovation Workshop structure for your next session
Sign up and generate a complete facilitation plan from this template.
Templates for this type of meeting
Brainstorming sessions that generate and converge
A good brainstorming session separates divergent idea generation from convergent selection. Without structure, a few voices dominate and the same obvious ideas win.
Read moreProblem-solving meetings that find the real cause
A problem-solving meeting should move from symptom to root cause to a chosen solution with owners. Without structure, teams treat symptoms and argue about the first fix that comes to mind.
Read moreHow to build a workshop from scratch
Building a workshop means designing for an outcome, not just filling time. This guide walks through the steps that turn a goal into a runnable session people actually remember.
Read moreHow to create a workshop agenda
A workshop agenda is a sequence designed to reach an outcome. This guide covers the elements and the order that make a workshop actually work.
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