Heuristics

So what exactly is “heuristics” and how does it apply to a Heuristic Culture? Simply put, heuristics is a reliable approach to learning and problem-solving. It comes from the same Greek word that gives us “eureka - I’ve found it!” It’s a way of getting to an unexpected answer by letting the answer to one question stimulate the next question and so on, and so on. It gets better when the people asking the questions bring substantially different perspectives to the table - right brain and left brain, divergent and convergent thinkers, creative and analytical. They ask different questions. They approach the problem differently. George Pólya explained it best in his book How to Solve It:

  • If you are having difficulty understanding a problem, draw a picture
  • If you can’t find a solution, try assuming you have one and work backward
  • If the problem is abstract, try examining a concrete example
  • If the problem seems small, try solving a more general problem first. The more ambitious plan may have a better chance of success

When this is applied to the design process, we end up with better solutions. We avoid gravitating to the first, most-obvious answer or designing in circles in search of a non-existent problem. We repeatedly expand and distill the pool of ideas until we reach the right solution. We apply it whether we’re discovering opportunities for new product categories or designing for manufacturability.

It seems intuitive. This should occur in any design firm or creative organization. At Ignition, however, we nurture it explicitly. We build it into our culture. It affects how we work, who we recruit, even how we arrange the furniture.