Enter the Idea Compass
Recently, a friend and I went on an extended tangent about our shared love (and occasional loathing) for design, process, and building positive cultures. She has built her career as an Agile coach, guiding software teams and organizations in working effectively together and building flow for the business. Since my career in strategic design similarly aims to assist organizations to work better together, we share lots of perspectives on engaging people with empathy and building equity into systems by harnessing a human-centered approach.
The result of this conversation was that we decided we should create something that will help our clients achieve their goals. Exciting! We both love making things. But … what should we make?
Our idea was to share with our clients—who perhaps haven’t been deeply involved in the industry discussions around design thinking and Agile software development—the benefits of using human-centered design to improve flow. Cool, we have an idea … now what?
Enter the Idea Compass
With that initial, still-fuzzy idea in mind, I thought this was the perfect moment to pull out the Idea Compass to help us find our direction.
The Idea Compass was a concept created by Vicky Zhao and Fei-Ling Tseng to organize note-taking and prepare written works. They explain beautifully how to use it to create linked systems of note-taking that will surface new intersections and insights from the notes you take.
I was immediately taken with the idea, but thought … why not use it visually within design processes? And that’s how the Idea Compass Worksheet was born.
Purpose: Why use the Idea Compass?
The Idea Compass is a set of prompts to get you thinking critically about an idea from a number of angles—whether it’s from your own imagination, or examining someone else’s brainchild.
Application: Key moments to use the Idea Compass
When you have the germ of a new idea and want to start building it out.
When you encounter someone else’s idea and want to learn more about it or evaluate its potential.
Rinse & Repeat: Reinforce your critical thinking skills
Using the Idea Compass regularly will help expand your critical thinking practice. By taking the time to carefully consider a concept’s environment and history, you are in a better place to respond, craft your personal position, and ensure that an idea will land the way you hope.
Power Tools: Combine with other design methods
The Idea Compass works exceptionally well with other design methods. Here are just a few examples:
Pair it with systems mapping to better grok the origins of the idea.
Use stakeholder mapping and empathy mapping to understand how the idea might be perceived by or affect your target audience.
Draw a storyboard to think through how the idea could play out (or be expanded) in real life.