Evaluating an Ideation Method in a Real-Life Context: A Field Test From the Railway Sector

A great number of ideation methods are available to assist the engineer in the conceptual phase of product development. Previous research on idea generation suggests that, in order to understand how ideation can be successful in reality, the context must be taken into account. Therefore, evaluating promising ideation methods in the intended use setting should be an important complement to other research studies in the field of engineering design. In the present study, an ideation method which had previously been developed by the present authors in close collaboration with industry, a government agency, and academia was evaluated in a typical use setting. Testing the method in a use setting led to unexpected events and to new insights into the method. During the most ideation-intensive stage of the method, one of the groups in the use setting generated suggestions at a rate similar to that of the small representative group in which the development of the method had taken place, whereas the other three groups in the use setting had a lower suggestion generation rate. The findings indicated that the participants’ views on the method correlated with those of the group which had developed the method.