Ways to spark new ideas
Your Quality during Design Digest
We've all been in slumps. It usually comes after those times where we've been doing the daily grind for a long time. We're not looking up much but getting stuff done. After a while we get tired. Worn down. Uninspired.
When I get to those points, I try to take some time (maybe even just a half day) to STOP. I look up and around and what's going on. Where has my deep digging work gotten me? Am I off course? Do I need to adjust? Sometimes that's enough.
Other times, I need a change of scenery. I scheduled a family spring break trip to see some sights in April. It wasn't that I was feeling I needed a break, but I had preplanned one.
I hadn't realized that I needed that break. I came back refreshed with new inspiration and bigger ideas.
It's worth it to do that maintenance. Other people might wrap-in this idea when they talk about work-life balance. I think it's a little more than that. It's part of taking care of ourselves so we can be our best creative self.
This newsletter edition is sharing the latest podcasts and articles. And sharing more about how to tend to our creativity.
Dianna
Quality during Design has been brought to you since 2021 from Deeney Enterprises and Dianna Deeney. Now a monthly digest sent on the first Friday of the month, gain insights, podcast highlights, and resources for engineering design professionals.
Brighten Your Creative Spark
Ever hit that wall where your creative tank feels bone dry? That moment when you've been grinding away at your projects, head down for so long that when someone asks for innovation, you come up empty? You're not alone.
Creative slumps happen when we get too immersed in our specialized domains. As engineers and designers, we develop expertise through consistent application of familiar tools and techniques.
But that same specialization creates mental echo chambers where we recycle the same ideas and follow habitual thought patterns. The result? When innovation is needed most, we feel frustratingly blocked.
The solution lies in cross-pollination – deliberately exposing ourselves to diverse inputs that spark unexpected connections.
This episode explores three strategies to reignite your creative spark:
scheduling dedicated exploration time through activities
practicing analogy thinking by mapping structures from unrelated domains to your challenges
maintaining a cross-pollination journal to capture insights for future reference.
My journal of choice is a bullet journal. It uses a grid of dots instead of lines. I start a new one every year. When I jot some notes about a specific topic, I write it as part of the table of contents in the front.
A friend uses a word document so he can later search by keyword.
The takeaway - choose something you think will work for you and try it for a while. Adjust what you do as you learn more about what works for you.
What an engineering expert does for creativity
Stuart Walesh wrote a book just for engineers: "Introduction to Creativity and Innovation for Engineers". He was interviewed by the Engineering Management Institute for The Civil Engineering Podcast (see Ep. 205 here).
With all of his experience and insights, these are the three things that work consistently for Stu:
Timing activities in your day, doing heavy thinking first thing.
Exercising.
Reading books.
I wholeheartedly agree. In fact, the trend "75 Hard Challenge" includes daily activities around the last two. More about the Hard 75. I'm not doing the Hard 75 but find I do prioritize the things their followers do - just not at the level they do it!
Speaking of books...
Get a deeper dive into a book through podcasts
I enjoy reading on my own. Reading it with a friend is the most fun. But that doesn't happen often, so I also enjoy listening to podcasts of others who have read the same thing! Lately, I've been choosing books based on what podcasters are talking about, just so I can listen-in and take a deeper dive into the material.
I have my own favorite book podcasters for fiction books.
For non-fiction books, I can offer some of our previous episodes that included a book review/discussion. These are all books related to engineering.
QDD Book Cast (inaugural episode)
You can also look for author interviews. They provide some deeper insights into why they wrote the book, or focus-in on one or more aspects of it. Have a non-fiction book you're reading, or want to read? Do an internet search on the author and/or book title.
Or ask Chat GPT or Gemini with this prompt: "Find podcast episodes related to [author] and [book title]. Then, find podcast episodes where [author] was a guest. List all episodes by date published."
QDD Redux: Choosing a Confidence Level for Test using FMEA
A way to juice up our creativity is linking things up in new ways.
I've had some feedback about choosing confidence levels for test - people were asking me how to do it, or where to start. I recommend FMEA, if you've got it! So, I republished this podcast episode from the archive with a new introduction:
Ever wondered if you're wasting resources by setting unnecessarily high confidence levels for your reliability requirements? You're not alone. Many engineering teams default to 95% or 99% confidence without considering the downstream impact on testing timelines and resources.
This archive episode tackles a question that's been coming up frequently from listeners: how to choose appropriate confidence levels for reliability requirements and test methods. Rather than making arbitrary decisions, I share a practical approach using your existing Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) as a guide. This risk-based method helps you match your confidence levels to the actual risks associated with potential failures.
This episode exemplifies our philosophy that emphasizes using quality tools early in the development process to make better decisions. See the full post and listen to the episode.
How to engage with me
SELF-PACED COURSE FMEA in Practice: from Plan to Risk-Based Decision Making is enrolling students now. Join nearly 300 students: Click Here.
CONSULTING We'll schedule a complimentary call, and you'll gain clarity on your situation.
COACHING Let's talk about your goals and to see if we're a good fit.
CONFERENCES I'll be at the ASQ RMMR conference, July 17-18 in Charlotte, NC.