If you’ve ever come across a new product in a store and thought, “That’s a great idea,” you might have just assumed the product arose from a flash of brilliance. Perhaps that’s true, but it’s more likely that the product is the result of a great deal of deliberation and strategy. After all, consider how many ideas arose from a recent brainstorming session you’ve had. Multiply those ideas by hundreds or even thousands, and you’ll start to understand just how overwhelming it can be to determine which ideas are worth pursuing and which should be ignored.
Businesses need a strategic way to sift through ideas and pinpoint those that are most beneficial to the bottom line and to their growth. That’s where the idea funnel comes in.
What is an idea funnel?
An idea funnel is a tool used to determine which ideas are most advantageous to the business. It’s a visualization technique that is most commonly used to help companies understand what new ideas are realistic and worth moving forward with. This is invaluable because, while an idea may be very good, it might not be the best for the market, the business, or the moment in time. The idea funnel helps to sort and prioritize the best ideas.
This powerful tool—also known as idea modeling or an ideation funnel—is primarily about bringing something new to your organization or customers, but it also helps you brainstorm, refine, and execute the best ideas. So, while you may have just been forming an idea prior to using the idea funnel, you’ll likely have a robust, carefully thought-out idea at the end of the exercise.
Different models for an ideation funnel
There’s no one right way to go about implementing an idea funnel, so explore different options before committing to a model. Here are a few to check out:
Stage-gate method
Also referred to as the “phase-gate process,” this method can be thought of as something like a video game in which sequential stages aren’t “unlocked” until previous requirements are met.
The stages of this process are:
- Discover: The ideation and brainstorming phase
- Scope: A general outline of the project, including an exploration of the project’s goals
- Design: A more detailed examination of the project that involves research, justification, and the development of a business case, metrics, and plans
- Develop: The actual creation of the product or service that will eventually be scaled out for the market
- Scale: Tests and trials, product validation, operations plans, and marketing propositions
- Launch: Introduction to the market, including full production and sales
Each of those five stages is gated by three specific components:
- Input: Examining and evaluating the previous stage’s results
- Criteria: Using data and KPIs to measure against defined success metrics
- Output: Considering the above, the idea is given the go-ahead, killed, recycled, or held off on until a future time
The stage-gate method is a very precise method of moving through the ideation and launch process, but it lacks the creative freedom of other methods.
Design Thinking method
This method is nonlinear, meaning your team may start at whichever stage they’d like, run them in parallel, and revisit stages again later. The Design Thinking method consists of five stages:
- Empathize: Put yourself in the shoes of your users and determine what problems they have
- Define: Articulate the needs of your users
- Ideate: Brainstorm ways to meet your users’ needs
- Prototype: Build! Experiment and iterate
- Test: Test the prototypes
While the Design Thinking method encourages creativity, it lengthens the duration of the project overall. If you’re in a time crunch, this may not be the best model to use.
