How Now Wow Matrix Template
Brainstorm and organize ideas based on their originality and ease of implementation.
About the How Now Wow matrix template
What is How Now Wow?
Brainstorming is difficult — but it becomes increasingly difficult as you scale. As you release more and more innovative products and services, it’s harder for your team to get creative. Complicated workflows, hard judgment calls, and resource constraints often force you to be conservative when you’d rather take risks. To overcome this challenge and reinvigorate your team, you can use the How Now Wow matrix.
The How Now Wow matrix is a game that fosters creativity. It consists of a 2x2 matrix with “originality” on the X-axis and “feasibility” on the Y-axis. You work with your team to file your ideas into each category. Working through the matrix can empower you to overcome creative roadblocks.
How do you use the How Now Wow matrix?
The horizontal axis represents originality and rates ideas as normal or innovative. The vertical axis represents ease of implementation and rates ideas as easy or difficult to implement. Ideas that are unoriginal and challenging probably aren’t worth pursuing. “How” ideas that are innovative but difficult to execute may need further work before you can act upon them. “Now” ideas are generally considered low-hanging fruit. “Wow” ideas are both innovative and relatively easy to implement, so this is where you’ll want to try to focus your attention.
The 3 Aspects of How Now Wow
How: Difficult to implement.
This category consists of ideas that are innovative but infeasible. It’s a helpful way to set ambitious goals for the future.
Now: Easy to implement.
These ideas are familiar, so you know they work well.
Wow: Original and easy to implement.
This category describes creative ideas that are relatively simple to execute. Try to file as many ideas into this category as possible.
Who can use the How Now Wow matrix?
The How Now Wow matrix is versatile enough to be used by any number of teams. Use it whenever you’d like to encourage your team to do creative brainstorming. In order to encourage maximum creativity, you may find it beneficial to break teams into smaller groups or let people brainstorm individually before sharing their ideas with a larger group.
Get started with this template right now.
Basic Venn Diagram
Works best for:
Venn Diagram
The Basic Venn Diagram template is a simple yet powerful tool for visualizing relationships between different sets. Use it to compare and contrast concepts, identify commonalities and differences, and organize information logically. This template is perfect for brainstorming, teaching, and presentations, making complex information more accessible and understandable. Ideal for educators, students, and professionals in various fields.
Mood Board Template
Works best for:
Design, Brainstorming, Ideation
When you’re kicking off a creative project, it’s sometimes important to communicate the mood you’re trying to evoke — but it’s so hard to do it with words. So create a mood board and use images, color palettes, textures, and typography. Mood boards are also perfect for gathering inspiration and sketching out and pitching ideas, and they’re not just for designers — your content writers, sales teams, and product teams can use them too, and this template makes it easy for all of you to get started.
Risk Assessment Template
Works best for:
Leadership, Project Management, Decision Making
Every business faces risk. The more you factor it into your decisions early on, the better prepared you’ll be to avoid, absorb, or mitigate the risks you encounter. Use Miro’s risk assessment template to collaborate on a clear-eyed risk assessment that ensures you’ll never be caught unawares.
Plus Delta Template
Works best for:
Software Development, Meetings, Retrospectives
The Plus Delta template is a simple but powerful tool for collecting constructive criticism from a group. The format encourages you and your team to focus on what went well, what you should repeat in the future, and what you should aim to change. To complete a Plus Delta template, simply make note of things that are working and things you would like to improve. You can then file these elements into two separate columns. Use Plus Delta to showcase wins and learnings for your team, stakeholders, employees, and bosses.
Sticky Note Packs Template
Works best for:
Brainstorming, Meetings, Workshops
Use Miro’s Stickies Packs template to facilitate your brainstorming and group sessions. Use them to organize your ideas, collaborate as a team, and encourage participation from everyone involved.
Random Words Template
Works best for:
Ideation, Brainstorming, Mind Mapping
Random word brainstorming is a simple, creative technique using random words to generate new ideas and creative solutions to your problems. Using random word prompts allows you to step beyond traditional boundaries and address challenges from a different direction. Random word brainstorming allows your team to unlock their creativity to solve business problems, create new inventions, improve existing ideas, or just think about problems in a new way.