How-Now-Wow Matrix
This game naturally follows the creative idea generation phase and helps players select ideas to develop further.
Draw a 2-by-2 matrix as above. The X-axis denotes the originality of the idea and the Y-axis shows the ease of implementation.
Label the quadrants as:
- Now/Blue Ideas – Normal ideas, easy to implement. These are typically low-hanging fruit and solutions to fill existing gaps in processes. These normally result in incremental benefits.
- How/Yellow Ideas – Original ideas, impossible to implement. These are breakthrough ideas in terms of impact, but absolutely impossible to implement right now given current technology/budget constraints.
- Wow/Green Ideas – Original ideas, easy to implement. ‘Wow’ ideas are those with potential for orbit-shifting change and possible to implement within current reality.
Flow
- List down the ideas that emerge from the creative ideation phase on large charts of paper stuck around the room.
- Give each player 3 sticky dots of each colour – that is, 3 blue, 3 yellow, 3 green. 9 dots per person is typical, but go ahead and reduce/increase that number based on the time at hand and number of ideas generated.
- Ask each player to step forward and vote for 3 best ideas in each category. They need to do this by sticking a coloured dot in front of each idea they choose.
- In the end, count the number of dots under each idea to categorize it. The highest number of dots of a certain colour categorizes the idea under that colour.
- In case of a tie:
- If blue dots = green dots, the idea is blue
- If yellow dots = green dots, the idea is green
6. You now have a bucket of Now/Green ideas to work on further. Make sure you also collect the low-hanging blue ideas for immediate implementation and the yellow ideas to keep an eye on for the future.
Note: Check your yellow dots in advance to ensure that they can be seen from a distance. If not, go ahead and replace them with another colour. FYI, in the original matrix, WOW ideas are red.
