How would it look like if it was magic?
Design is a game of constraints. In addition to user needs, you need to take into account technical limitations, implementation timelines, conflicting business needs, and stakeholder opinions. Usually, there’s way too little time reserved for design, research, and development.
Because there are so many constraints, it’s easy to unconsciously limit your ideas and think small when designing. “What kind of components do we have and what can I recycle from earlier work? How would I make this feature as fast as possible to implement?”. But when thinking of new features and workflows it’s necessary to open up and think of the best possible solution, not the most easily achievable solution.
There are many approaches and techniques for creative thinking, but the one question that has worked the best for me is “How would it look like if it was magic?”
For me, it opens up possibilities: if this feature was magic, there would be one button that does things X, Y & Z for the user. Or that the UI would tell the user what they should be doing next. Or the system could provide suggestions on which products to order to stores, the user could review them and adjust where needed, and the system would take care of the rest. Or if it was magic, the user could say “Siri, remind me on Tuesday afternoon of the second week of next February to think about the wonders of natural language processing.”
Afterwards, it’s easy to work from the magical solution back to the limitations of reality. Often it’s possible to create a solution that’s almost like magic within the constraints. Other times it could reveal business benefits that weren’t visible before and resources and timelines could be expanded to match. In the end, as with Siri, the final solution might be the magical solution.