{"id":242,"date":"2026-02-08T17:07:56","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T21:07:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.justinmcclellan.com\/blog\/?p=242"},"modified":"2026-04-07T14:04:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T18:04:20","slug":"post-up-ideationbrainstorming-sessions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.justinmcclellan.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/post-up-ideationbrainstorming-sessions\/","title":{"rendered":"Structured Ideation \u2014 Post-Up Sessions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.justinmcclellan.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/fzm-VectorPostItNotesPushPins-01.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-385\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-385\" src=\"http:\/\/www.justinmcclellan.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/fzm-VectorPostItNotesPushPins-01-300x224.jpg\" alt=\"fzm-VectorPostItNotes+PushPins-01\" width=\"275\" height=\"205\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.justinmcclellan.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/fzm-VectorPostItNotesPushPins-01-300x224.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.justinmcclellan.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/fzm-VectorPostItNotesPushPins-01.jpg 550w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 275px) 100vw, 275px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"255\" data-end=\"479\">\u201cPost-Up\u201d ideation is a simple way to capture input from a team without turning a working session into an unproductive debate. It works well for identifying problems, refining opportunities, and generating solution concepts.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"481\" data-end=\"553\">The strength of the method is <strong data-start=\"511\" data-end=\"552\">parallel input + structured filtering<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<hr data-start=\"555\" data-end=\"558\" \/>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"xngwhu\" data-start=\"560\" data-end=\"568\"><strong>Setup<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"570\" data-end=\"641\">Use four categories of input (physical Post-Its or digital equivalent):<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"643\" data-end=\"851\">\n<li data-section-id=\"1aobsbx\" data-start=\"643\" data-end=\"695\"><strong data-start=\"645\" data-end=\"658\">Dark Blue<\/strong> \u2014 Positive signal (worth pursuing)<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"ogi4hz\" data-start=\"696\" data-end=\"756\"><strong data-start=\"698\" data-end=\"712\">Light Blue<\/strong> \u2014 Assumptions, clarifications, extensions<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"765fj9\" data-start=\"757\" data-end=\"793\"><strong data-start=\"759\" data-end=\"769\">Yellow<\/strong> \u2014 Facts or known data<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"n9hbv9\" data-start=\"794\" data-end=\"851\"><strong data-start=\"796\" data-end=\"804\">Pink<\/strong> \u2014 Concerns, risks, or reasons not to proceed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"853\" data-end=\"908\">The goal is not discussion\u2014it is <strong data-start=\"886\" data-end=\"907\">signal collection<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<hr data-start=\"910\" data-end=\"913\" \/>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"6y59u6\" data-start=\"915\" data-end=\"925\"><strong>Process<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"927\" data-end=\"939\">Preparation:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"941\" data-end=\"1085\">\n<li data-section-id=\"1fzl1i9\" data-start=\"941\" data-end=\"1011\">Each participant develops <strong data-start=\"969\" data-end=\"989\">1-page summaries<\/strong> of ideas in advance<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"18vmo80\" data-start=\"1012\" data-end=\"1085\">Ideas are presented quickly (~2 minutes each) with minimal discussion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"1087\" data-end=\"1100\">Session flow:<\/p>\n<ol data-start=\"1102\" data-end=\"1352\">\n<li data-section-id=\"wx9zr5\" data-start=\"1102\" data-end=\"1153\">Post all ideas on a wall (\u201cProblem Workspace\u201d)<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1m76u5b\" data-start=\"1154\" data-end=\"1234\">Team members add inputs in parallel using the color system (~15\u201320 minutes)<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1njhdop\" data-start=\"1235\" data-end=\"1291\">Patterns emerge based on volume of positive signals<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1vu54bp\" data-start=\"1292\" data-end=\"1352\">Top ideas are moved to an \u201cIdea Wall\u201d for deeper review<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p data-start=\"1354\" data-end=\"1481\">At this stage, discussion is still limited. The objective is to <strong data-start=\"1418\" data-end=\"1480\">surface collective insight without anchoring or groupthink<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<hr data-start=\"1483\" data-end=\"1486\" \/>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"11qzeu2\" data-start=\"1488\" data-end=\"1497\"><strong>Output<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"1499\" data-end=\"1534\">Each selected idea should now have:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"1536\" data-end=\"1674\">\n<li data-section-id=\"77egbd\" data-start=\"1536\" data-end=\"1572\">Clear support (positive signals)<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1gup27c\" data-start=\"1573\" data-end=\"1608\">Identified risks and objections<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"19a1vvt\" data-start=\"1609\" data-end=\"1641\">Key assumptions and unknowns<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1mm580g\" data-start=\"1642\" data-end=\"1674\">Supporting facts and context<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"1676\" data-end=\"1815\">This becomes a strong starting point for a Product Manager or team to take ownership and move into deeper validation.<\/p>\n<hr data-start=\"1817\" data-end=\"1820\" \/>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"17vy8k4\" data-start=\"1822\" data-end=\"1839\"><strong>When to Use It<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"1841\" data-end=\"1871\">This method is most effective:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"1873\" data-end=\"2065\">\n<li data-section-id=\"38chd8\" data-start=\"1873\" data-end=\"1948\">Early in the process (problem identification and opportunity selection)<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"71h833\" data-start=\"1949\" data-end=\"2001\">When multiple ideas need to be evaluated quickly<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1usbhd9\" data-start=\"2002\" data-end=\"2065\">When you want broad team input without hierarchy dominating<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"2067\" data-end=\"2112\">It is less useful once execution is underway.<\/p>\n<hr data-start=\"2114\" data-end=\"2117\" \/>\n<h2 data-section-id=\"1mrtquc\" data-start=\"2119\" data-end=\"2133\"><strong>Bottom Line<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul data-start=\"2135\" data-end=\"2269\">\n<li data-section-id=\"q71ugh\" data-start=\"2135\" data-end=\"2172\">Capture input first, debate later<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"1iduz1f\" data-start=\"2173\" data-end=\"2211\">Let patterns emerge from the group<\/li>\n<li data-section-id=\"p4sdu1\" data-start=\"2212\" data-end=\"2269\">Down-select based on signal, not volume of discussion<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>To learn more, visit:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.post-it.com\/3M\/en_US\/post-it\/ideas\/articles\/rapid-ideation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.post-it.com\/3M\/en_US\/post-it\/ideas\/articles\/rapid-ideation\/\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Also, check out <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Rapid-Problem-Solving-Post-Notes-ebook\/dp\/B009K44MZG\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rapid Problem Solving with Post-it Notes<\/a>\u00a0written by David Straker.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cPost-Up\u201d ideation is a simple way to capture input from a team without turning a working session into an unproductive debate. It works well for identifying problems, refining opportunities, and generating solution concepts. The strength of the method is parallel input + structured filtering. Setup &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.justinmcclellan.com\/blog\/2026\/02\/post-up-ideationbrainstorming-sessions\/\" class=\"more-link\"><span>Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Structured Ideation \u2014 Post-Up Sessions<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":629,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,18,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-commercialization","category-product-management"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.justinmcclellan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.justinmcclellan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.justinmcclellan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.justinmcclellan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.justinmcclellan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.justinmcclellan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":564,"href":"http:\/\/www.justinmcclellan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242\/revisions\/564"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.justinmcclellan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.justinmcclellan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.justinmcclellan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.justinmcclellan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}