Brainstorming Process - MOVILES-G22-2025/Wiki GitHub Wiki

Introduction

In this section, we will outline our brainstorming process and the solution that emerged from it. We aimed to systematically generate and refine ideas to address the selected problem of University Marketplace.

1. Define the problem

On Friday, our team gathered for a meeting to go through the brainstorming process. We began by selecting two of the four proposed problems: University Marketplace and Los Andes Parking. After discussion, we decided to focus on the University Marketplace issue. We then determined the type of ideas we wanted to generate, focusing on innovative and practical solutions that would effectively address the problem.

2. Set the environment

To facilitate our brainstorming session, we used Mural, a collaborative online platform that allows teams to work with digital post-its. This helped us organize our ideas in a structured and efficient manner. To ensure a fair yet time-conscious process, our professor set a timer, limiting the brainstorming session to a specific duration. This encouraged us to remain focused while allowing creativity to flow without excessive delays.

3. Establish ground rules

To maintain an effective and inclusive brainstorming session, we established the following ground rules:

• Everyone must participate. Each team member was encouraged to contribute ideas.

• No deleting others' contributions. All ideas were valued and respected.

• Stop adding ideas when the timer goes off. This helped maintain a structured process and avoid overextension.

4. Generating ideas

Once the timer started, everyone actively contributed their ideas to the Mural board. If a participant hesitated or stopped adding ideas, the rest of the team encouraged them to continue. This ensured that all perspectives were considered and that the brainstorming session remained dynamic and inclusive.

5. Analyzing Teammates Ideas

After the brainstorming session ended, our professor started a new timer for the next step: evaluating and selecting the most promising ideas. We used emojis to highlight key contributions and categorized the ideas into four groups:

• Rational Choice – The most practical and feasible solutions.

• Most Likely to Delight – Ideas that would engage and excite users.

• The Darling – Concepts that we were particularly passionate about.

• The Long Shot – Ambitious but potentially impactful ideas.

(See Image 1 for the final board)

6. Thinking about similar apps

To refine our concept, we thought about existing marketplace apps to analyze their features, strengths, and weaknesses. This research helped us identify key features four our idea.

7. Select our Wow feature

We then discussed what unique feature would set our app apart from existing solutions. We aimed to find an innovative element that would make our platform highly appealing to users within the university community. In our case, we identified that our "Wow" feature would be the ability to create profiles exclusively with a Uniandes email address. This feature would enhance security and build trust among buyers and sellers, ensuring that all users belong to the university community.

8. Evaluate the process

Finally, we reflected on the brainstorming process itself. We analyzed what worked well and what could be improved for future sessions. Gathering feedback allowed us to refine our approach and optimize our brainstorming techniques for upcoming projects.

By following this structured approach, we successfully developed a solid foundation for our University Marketplace app. Moving forward, we will continue refining our concept and working towards an effective and user-friendly solution.