Parking Lot of Ideas
Short Tip: The place for storing relevant ideas that have not been used so far.
What is it?
It is a place to store relevant ideas that have not been used so far in product development.
Unlike the parking lot commonly used in meetings to put aside topics that are not directly related to the main discussion, the Parking Lot of Ideas is a repository to be used over time, in multiple products.
Why use it?
Often during the ideation process, one or more ideas considered relevant end up being discarded because they are out of context or due to the team’s limitation in advancing with multiple ideas simultaneously. This can generate indecision, paralysis or a sense of loss in the team.
Because it is a list set aside for reference any time, the Parking Lot of Ideas is an instrument that makes it easier for teams to filter and select the idea to be detailed.
How to use it?
The Parking Lot of Ideas is a living instrument. It can receive new ideas during an ideation process or any other stage of product development, as well as feed the process with new ideas that have not yet emerged.
The following steps are recommended:
- Before the ideation process, print a version of the template on an A3 sheet or use the version you already have, in the case of products that already have a Parking Lot;
- It is also quite common to use the Parking Lot through digital tools;
- Run the ideation process (Design Sprint or Design Thinking) initially without using the Parking Lot. At the end of the divergence step (generation of ideas), read the Parking Lot of Ideas related to the subject, and identify the group’s reaction;
- If the idea is promptly rejected by the group, decide whether you should remove it from the Parking Lot (throw it away); or
- If the idea is relevant, include it in the list of ideas evaluated by the team in the ideation process (move the post-it from one board to the other);
- At the end of the ideation process, ideas that were not used but were considered of great value should be moved to the Parking Lot of Ideas under their respective subject.
- If the text of the idea is not clear enough, organize a more accurate description on the back of the post-it. Remember that the idea can be used many weeks (or even months) later, even by other people.