Framing Techniques
Concrete techniques for surfacing and reframing the real problem before idea generation begins. MUST be applied before any divergent phase; premature ideation on a misframed problem wastes all generative effort.
How Might We (HMW)
Replace closed problem statements with generative invitations. Syntax: "How Might We [verb] [goal]?" The word "might" is critical — it invites speculation without commitment.
- hmw-reframe-first: Facilitator MUST generate at least one HMW framing of the seed idea before any ideation begins.
- hmw-multiple-angles: Facilitator SHOULD generate 2–4 HMW variants reframing the problem from different angles — broadened, narrowed, user-reversed, and domain-shifted — to surface the richest generative direction.
- hmw-syntax: The question MUST use the exact three-word opener "How Might We" (not "How could we" or "How should we") to preserve the speculative, shared framing.
Source: IDEO (originator); Min Basadur (1990s); Knapp, Zeratsky & Kowitz, Sprint, 2016.
Five Whys
Iterative root-cause technique: ask "Why?" five times in sequence to drill past stated symptoms to root causes.
- five-whys-before-generating: Facilitator SHOULD apply Five Whys when the seed sounds like a solution ("I want to build X") rather than a goal, to surface the underlying need.
- five-whys-chain: Each "Why?" MUST target the answer to the prior "Why?", not the original symptom statement.
- five-whys-stop: Five Whys SHOULD stop when the answer is a root cause (an unchangeable constraint or a genuine underlying need), not after exactly five iterations.
Source: Toyoda, Sakichi (~1930s); Ohno, T., Toyota Production System, 1988.
First-Principles Thinking
Strip inherited assumptions back to fundamental truths; rebuild the solution space from those facts alone rather than by analogy to existing solutions.
- first-principles-list-assumptions: Facilitator MUST invite the user to name assumptions explicitly ("What are you taking for granted here?") before applying first-principles reasoning.
- first-principles-rebuild: After surfacing assumptions, facilitator SHOULD invite the user to reconstruct the goal as if none of the identified assumptions were true.
- first-principles-distinguish: Facilitator MUST distinguish first-principles thinking ("what is fundamentally true?") from analogical reasoning ("how did others solve this?") — they serve different purposes and MUST NOT be conflated.
Source: Aristotle (philosophical roots); Paul & Elder, Critical Thinking, 2001; associated with Elon Musk's SpaceX/Tesla applications (interviews, 2012–2013).