Insights, Questions, Ideas (IQI)
Insights, Questions, Ideas (IQI, pronounced “icky”), developed by Sudden Compass®, is a structured way to collaboratively analyze data points. IQI is performed after all datapoints (qualitative and/or quantitative)have been externalized and clustered using a technique such as affinity clustering. Utilizing the IQI method after externalizing and clustering data points helps ensure that teams are not confusing data points with insights, and provides teams with the opportunity to immerse themselves in a data set before drawing conclusions from that data set.
Key to the practice of IQI is documenting insights, questions, and ideas separately, but concurrently. This helps teams understand the differences between insights (patterns and identified within the current data set), questions (which are not answered by the current data set), and ideas for new products, actions, or initiatives (which may be inspired by the current data set, but often require additional validation)
For example, a team debriefing on a set of user interviews might be tempted to jump immediately from an affinity clustering exercise to a proposal for new products or initiatives. Using the IQI method helps teams keep data, insights, questions, and ideas separate--in turn avoiding the leaps and jumps that often turn good data into bad decisions.
IQI is utilized as a method in the third step (Analyze) of Sudden Compass’s Unlock Sprints™ practice (Ask, Acquire, Analyze, Act). By formally separating out data from insights, questions, and ideas, the sprint is designed to keep teams firmly rooted in the data at hand, while giving them a structured way to ideate and imagine new solutions.
Directions
- Write all data points (qualitative and/or quantitative) on individual sticky notes. Be sure to write one data point per sticky note.
- Organize the data points with an affinity clustering exercise.
- At the completion of an affinity clustering exercise, gather sticky notes in three colors that were not used in the original exercise. Assign one color each to insights, questions, and ideas respectively.
- Working in a 10-minute timebox, participants write up as many insights, questions, and ideas as they can, reading each one aloud as they place it next to the appropriate cluster in their shared workspace. Be sure that there is only one insight or question or idea per sticky note.
- If you feel that an insight, question, or idea is miscategorized, call this out as soon as it is shared. The resulting conversation will help your team better understand and navigate assumptions which could prove hugely impactful down the line.
- At the end of the timebox, document the resulting insights, questions, and ideas in a central physical or digital location. If you would like, you can stack rank these ideas, questions, and insights respectively using a decision-making method such as dot voting.
- For more complex debriefing of data points or to reincorporate emergent insights, teams may repeat the 10-minute timebox as needed.
