After the Brainstorm: 8 Questions to Find Winning Ideas

Building on my earlier brainstorming tips post, here's the challenge: you've generated dozens of ideas. How do you filter them to identify the most promising ones?

1. Gut Reaction Test

Does this idea feel right? Focus on your instinctive response, setting aside novelty or trendy elements to assess genuine merit.

2. Audience Perspective

Evaluate whether the target audience would embrace the concept, considering their distinct tastes and expectations rather than your own preferences.

3. Experience Design Quality

Assess whether the idea supports engaging mechanics, storytelling, or interactions that sustain interest and suggest strong aesthetic potential.

4. Innovation Factor

Ideas that immediately echo existing concepts need refinement. Seek genuine novelty that distinguishes the idea from established alternatives.

5. Business Viability

Sound business logic strengthens ideas by maintaining stakeholder engagement and sustaining momentum throughout implementation.

6. Technical Feasibility

Collaborate with technologists to determine whether the concept can realistically be executed within your constraints.

7. Social Potential

Compelling ideas contain inherent shareability—elements that naturally inspire people to discuss them with others.

8. Peer Validation

Trusted colleagues provide honest feedback that serves as final confirmation before committing resources.

Ideas meeting most or all of these criteria have the strongest prospects for success.