On initial thought, brainstorming can be simply seen as a dedicated time for you to come up with ideas to solve a problem. Yet there are different methods of brainstorming, defined by a few rules and tools. Giving structure and guidance to a brainstorming session will, in turn, create an environment to develop many more ideas.
Methods of thinking have evolved and have been taught throughout history. These methods have been demonstrated by Ancient Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, through to serial entrepreneurs changing our world today, such as Elon Musk and Richard Branson.
Let's start with Brainstorming. The aim of this tool is not to produce inventions for fully developed products, instead, it is used to assist with the generation of ideas. This can be done at any stage of the problem-solving process but tends to focus on problem exploration, idea generation, and concept evaluation.
Brainstorming is normally a group activity undertaken by an interdisciplinary team.
There are a series of well-established rules that can help a brainstorming session run smoothly. These include
having no more than 10 people present to aid effective group dynamics.
Don't criticize or mock-up any ideas, statements, or individuals during the session.
Have lots of flip charts, marker pens, pencils,and paper available.
Make sure you introduce and state the brief clearly, and define a set period of time for the session. The participants in brainstorming generally includes an interdisciplinary team, colleagues, external collaborators.
What about the boss? Whether or not you include your boss will depend upon the aims
of the session, and the willingness of people to open up in front of a manager.
How about intimidating personalities? Again, you may choose not to include people who have
an intimidating personality, as this can inhibit the free flowing nature of
a brainstorming session.
How about skeptics? Having people who are skeptical can be both a hindrance and positive. But can be handled by perhaps a private word beforehand, asking an individual to moderate their critical approach for the duration of a brainstorming session.
What about non-participants? If an individual is not willing to engage, then it may be better not
to have them present.
There are various types of brainstorming.
The Flip Chart approach serves as a great entry activity to a brainstorming session. For example, it can be used to determine the important areas of a problem. The group can "Flip Chart" brainstorm these for several minutes.
Post-its were born for brainstorming. They are a great size to focus and record a single idea. As Post-its can be peeled off a surface and re-applied several times, the ideas can then be rearranged and ordered into groups of similar ideas. The approach encourages a group to come together and generate ideas simultaneously.
As the name suggests, in an Alphabet brainstorming session, participants are invited to work through the alphabet letter by letter. With one set parameter, the letter itself, it inspires a wide range of ideas. It also encourages the creative use of the letter to form a sentence or phrase, rather than an idea that is one or two words.
The session should always be concluded by reviewing the ideas generated. If necessary, this can be immediately followed by exploring opportunities to combine ideas and seeing whether any of the suggestions provoke additional avenues for exploration.
Brainwriting is a series of techniques developed by Horst Geschka at the Batelle Institute in Frankfurt (Geschka, 1993). Most of the session is done in silence as it encourages a group of participants to develop ideas in parallel.
During Grid brainstorming, a 3 by 3 grid is recommended. The number of columns dictates the number of ideas needed to initiate the process. The number of rows dictates how many times the idea is passed on and developed. By the end of a session, many ideas have been generated and developed by using the inspiration of previously generated ideas.
Methods of thinking have evolved and have been taught throughout history. These methods have been demonstrated by Ancient Greek philosophers such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, through to serial entrepreneurs changing our world today, such as Elon Musk and Richard Branson.
Let's start with Brainstorming. The aim of this tool is not to produce inventions for fully developed products, instead, it is used to assist with the generation of ideas. This can be done at any stage of the problem-solving process but tends to focus on problem exploration, idea generation, and concept evaluation.
Brainstorming is normally a group activity undertaken by an interdisciplinary team.
There are a series of well-established rules that can help a brainstorming session run smoothly. These include
having no more than 10 people present to aid effective group dynamics.
Don't criticize or mock-up any ideas, statements, or individuals during the session.
Have lots of flip charts, marker pens, pencils,and paper available.
Make sure you introduce and state the brief clearly, and define a set period of time for the session. The participants in brainstorming generally includes an interdisciplinary team, colleagues, external collaborators.
What about the boss? Whether or not you include your boss will depend upon the aims
of the session, and the willingness of people to open up in front of a manager.
How about intimidating personalities? Again, you may choose not to include people who have
an intimidating personality, as this can inhibit the free flowing nature of
a brainstorming session.
How about skeptics? Having people who are skeptical can be both a hindrance and positive. But can be handled by perhaps a private word beforehand, asking an individual to moderate their critical approach for the duration of a brainstorming session.
What about non-participants? If an individual is not willing to engage, then it may be better not
to have them present.
There are various types of brainstorming.
Brainstorming tools
As the name suggests, in an Alphabet brainstorming session, participants are invited to work through the alphabet letter by letter. With one set parameter, the letter itself, it inspires a wide range of ideas. It also encourages the creative use of the letter to form a sentence or phrase, rather than an idea that is one or two words.
The session should always be concluded by reviewing the ideas generated. If necessary, this can be immediately followed by exploring opportunities to combine ideas and seeing whether any of the suggestions provoke additional avenues for exploration.
Brainwriting is a series of techniques developed by Horst Geschka at the Batelle Institute in Frankfurt (Geschka, 1993). Most of the session is done in silence as it encourages a group of participants to develop ideas in parallel.
During Grid brainstorming, a 3 by 3 grid is recommended. The number of columns dictates the number of ideas needed to initiate the process. The number of rows dictates how many times the idea is passed on and developed. By the end of a session, many ideas have been generated and developed by using the inspiration of previously generated ideas.
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