Some people frequently use this word "Brainstorm/Brainstorming", but i didn't know the meaning. Luckily I got a book two/three weeks before, it clearly talks about "Brainstorming". Brainstorming is a creativity technique of generating ideas to solve a problem. Last two weeks with the help of Google and some other books, I collected lots of information about brainstorming for my knowledge. I've posted those informations in a proper organized form. Most of the contents & diagrams from wikipedia & Jahn Chards "Decision Making Techniques" book.
Some Def:
- Brainstorming is a process for generating new ideas
- Brainstorming is "a conference technique by which a group attempts to find a solution for a specific problem by amassing all the ideas spontaneously by its members" - Alex Osborn
- To brainstorm is to use a set of specific rules and techniques which encourage and spark off new ideas which would never have happened under normal circumstances
Brainstorming is a useful and popular tool that you can use to develop highly creative solutions to a problem.
It is particularly helpful when you need to break out of stale, established patterns of thinking, so that you can develop new ways of looking at things. This can be when you need to develop new opportunities, where you want to improve the service that you offer, or when existing approaches just aren't giving you the results you want.
Used with your team, it helps you bring the experience of all team members into play during problem solving.
This increases the richness of solutions explored (meaning that you can find better solutions to the problems you face, and make better decisions.) It can also help you get buy in from team members for the solution chosen - after all, they have helped create that solution.
Wikipedia says:
Brainstorming is a creativity technique of generating ideas to solve a problem. The main result of a brainstorm session may be a complete solution to the problem, a list of ideas for an approach to a subsequent solution, or a list of ideas resulting in a plan to find a solution.
Brainstorming and Lateral Thinking
Brainstorming is a lateral thinking process. It asks that people come up with ideas and thoughts that seem at first to be a bit shocking or crazy. You can then change and improve them into ideas that are useful, and often stunningly original.
During brainstorming sessions there should therefore be no criticism of ideas: You are trying to open up possibilities and break down wrong assumptions about the limits of the problem. Judgments and analysis at this stage will stunt idea generation.
Ideas should only be evaluated at the end of the brainstorming session - you can then explore solutions further using conventional approaches.If your ideas begin to dry up, you can 'seed' the session with, for example, a random word (see Random Input).
Individual Brainstorming
When you brainstorm on your own you will tend to produce a wider range of ideas than with group brainstorming - you do not have to worry about other people's egos or opinions, and can therefore be more freely creative. You may not, however, develop ideas as effectively as you do not have the experience of a group to help you.
When Brainstorming on your own, it can be helpful to use Mind Maps to arrange and develop ideas.
Group Brainstorming
Group brainstorming can be very effective as it uses the experience and creativity of all members of the group. When individual members reach their limit on an idea, another member's creativity and experience can take the idea to the next stage. Therefore, group brainstorming tends to develop ideas in more depth than individual brainstorming.
Brainstorming in a group can be risky for individuals. Valuable but strange suggestions may appear stupid at first sight. Because of such, you need to chair sessions tightly so that uncreative people do not crush these ideas and leave group members feeling humiliated.
Applictions
Brainstorming has many applications but it is most often used in:
- New product development - obtaining ideas for new products and improving existing products
- Advertising - developing ideas for advertising campaigns
- Problem solving - issues, root causes, alternative solutions, impact analysis, evaluation
- Process management - finding ways of improving business and production processes
- Project Management - identifying client objectives, risks, deliverables, work packages, resources, roles and responsibilities, tasks, issues
- Team building - generates sharing and discussion of ideas while stimulating participants to think
- Business planning – develop and improve the product idea.
- Advertising campaigns
- Marketing strategy and methods
- Research and Development procedures
- Research techniques
- Patents
- Physical products
- Written documents and articles
- Services
- Processes
- Engineering components
- Government policies
- Consumer research
- Factories
- Management methods
- Company structure and policy
- Investment decisions
- New industries
- Better insurance policies
- New and better ... whatever you want!
History
In 1941 Alex Osborn, an advertising executive, found that conventional business meetings were inhibiting the creation of new ideas and proposed some rules designed to help stimulate them. He was looking for rules which would give people the freedom of mind and action to spark off and reveal new ideas. To "think up" was originally the term he used to describe the process he developed, and that in turn came to be known as "brainstorming". He described brainstorming as "a conference technique by which a group attempts to find a solution for a specific problem by amassing all the ideas spontaneously by its members". The rules he came up with are the following:
- No criticism of ideas
- Go for large quantities of ideas
- Build on each others ideas
- Encourage wild and exaggerated ideas
He found that when these rules were followed, a lot more ideas were created and that a greater quantity of original ideas gave rise to a greater quantity of useful ideas. Quantity produced quality.
Using these new rules, people's natural inhibitions were reduced, inhibitions which prevented them putting forward ideas which they felt might be considered "wrong" or "stupid". Osborn also found that generating "silly" ideas could spark off very useful ideas because they changed the way people thought.
As you will discover, the development of this original technique was revolutionary and has since changed our world. With increasing refinement of the process, and the introduction of creative thinking techniques, the world of easy idea generation is yours for the taking. You need never be stuck for a new idea, whether you are in a group or working by yourself.
You can read Alex Osborn's original approach in his book "Applied Imagination".
- More money
- Faster promotion
- Increased creativity
- Better society
- More pleasant working environment
- Better employee relations
- A more responsive company
- Taking advantages of gaps in the market
- Creating new markets
- New products and services
- Better products and services
- Better management
- Less conflicts and arguments
- Improvements in productivity and reliability
Brainstorming Step by Step
- Define your problem or issue as a creative challenge. Creative challenges typically start with: "In what ways might we...?" or "How could we...?" Your creative challenge should be concise, to the point and exclude any information other than the challenge itself. For example: "In what ways might we improve product X?" or "How could we encourage more local people to join our club?"
- Give yourselves a time limit. We recommend around 25 minutes, but experience will show how much time is required. Larger groups may need more time to get everyone's ideas out. Alternatively, give yourself an idea limit. At minimum, push for 50 ideas. But 100 ideas is even better.
- Once the brainstorming starts, participants shout out solutions to the problem while the facilitator writes them down – usually on a white board or flip-chart for all to see. There must be absolutely no criticizing of ideas. No matter how daft, how impossible or how silly an idea is, it must be written down. Laughing is to be encouraged. Criticism is not.
- Once your time is up, select the five ideas which you like best. Make sure everyone involved in the brainstorming session is in agreement.
- Write down about five criteria for judging which ideas best solve your problem. Criteria should start with the word "should", for example, "it should be cost effective", "it should be legal", "it should be possible to finish before July 15", etc.
- Give each idea a score of 0 to 5 points depending on how well it meets each criterion. Once all of the ideas have been scored for each criterion, add up the scores.
- The idea with the highest score will best solve your problem. But you should keep a record of all of your best ideas and their scores in case your best idea turns out not to be workable.
Brainstorming is the name given to a situation when a group of people meet to generate new ideas around a specific area of interest. Using rules which remove inhibitions, people are able to think more freely and move into new areas of thought and so create numerous new ideas and solutions. The participants shout out ideas as they occur to them and then build on the ideas raised by others. All the ideas are noted down and are not criticized. Only when the brainstorming session is over are the ideas evaluated.
This is the traditional way brainstorming is done. The aim of this website is to train you in the methods of traditional brainstorming and then to move on and discover a series of advanced techniques available to you.
Some Rules and Principles
Do not pass judgment on ideas until the completion of the brainstorming session. Do not suggest that an idea won't work or that it has negative side-effects. All ideas are potentially good so don't judge them until afterwards. At this stage, avoid discussing the ideas at all, as this will inevitably involve either criticizing or complimenting them.Ideas should be put forward both as solutions and also as a basis to spark off solutions. Even seemingly foolish ideas can spark off better ones. Therefore do not judge the ideas until after the brainstorming process. Note down all ideas. There is no such thing as a bad idea.The evaluation of ideas takes up valuable brain power which should be devoted to the creation of ideas. Maximize your brainstorming session by only spending time generating new ideas. Rule 2: Encourage wild and exaggerated ideasIt's much easier to tame a wild idea than it is to think of an immediately valid one in the first place. The 'wilder' the idea the better. Shout out bizarre and unworkable ideas to see what they spark off. No idea is too ridiculous. State any outlandish ideas. Exaggerate ideas to the extreme.Use creative thinking techniques and tools to start your thinking from a fresh direction.
Rule 3: Quantity counts at this stage, not quality
Go for quantity of ideas at this point; narrow down the list later. All activities should be geared towards extracting as many ideas as possible in a given period.The more creative ideas a person or a group has to choose from, the better. If the number of ideas at the end of the session is very large, there is a greater chance of finding a really good idea.Keep each idea short, do not describe it in detail - just capture its essence. Brief clarifications can be requested. Think fast, reflect later.
Rule 4: Build on the ideas put forward by others
Build and expand on the ideas of others. Try and add extra thoughts to each idea. Use other people's ideas as inspiration for your own. Creative people are also good listeners. Combine several of the suggested ideas to explore new possibilities.It's just as valuable to be able to adapt and improve other people's ideas as it is to generate the initial idea that sets off new trains of thought.
Rule 5: Every person and every idea has equal worth
Every person has a valid viewpoint and a unique perspective on the situation and solution. We want to know yours. In a brainstorming session you can always put forward ideas purely to spark off other people and not just as a final solution. Please participate, even if you need to write your ideas on a piece of paper and hand it out. Encourage participation from everyone.Each idea presented belongs to the group, not to the person who said it. It is the group's responsibility and an indication of its ability to brainstorm if all participants feel able to contribute freely and confidently.
Principles relating to Rule 1: Withholding judgment
- Ideas which initially seem like they won't work can sometimes have enormous benefits when modified.
- You will reduce the inhibitions in others.
- You will encourage others to give you the freedom to share your own ideas.
- Original ideas are more likely to surface.
- Ideas which stimulate good solutions are more likely to be shared.
- The generation of new ideas is maximized because no brain power is used on evaluation.
- It's easier to tame wild ideas into a valid solution than it is to boost normal ideas into an original solution.
- Ideas which stimulate good solutions are more likely to be shared.
- Wild ideas are better at stimulating new thought patterns.
- Original ideas are encouraged by such actions.
- A loss of inhibitions is more likely.
- It's easier to pick out good ideas from a large list than a small list. Idea evaluation is often easier than idea generation, so give yourself lots of ideas to analyze later.
- It's easier to create a good idea from combining lots of little ideas.
- A fast output of ideas reduces the likelihood of evaluation and so helps a loss of inhibitions.
- People get more absorbed by the process and think more freely.
- Quantity, in this case, brings quality.
- The focus on each idea is minimal at this stage and so participants feel less pressure on each idea.
- Every idea put forward has a principle or concept that will be useful.
- Wild ideas can be turned into valid solutions.
- You encourage others to put forward stimulating ideas by using those ideas.
- You build freedom for yourself when you put forward stimulating ideas.
- It's often easier to adapt someone else's idea than to generate a completely original one.
- You will get solutions from a wider range of people.
- The breadth of ideas will cover different personality types.
- You will encourage others to listen to your own ideas.
- Every idea has equal worth as a stimulus.
- You will know that you have created a healthy brainstorming environment if everyone feels confident to contribute.
Possible problems with Traditional Brainstorming
- You don't have the time or resources for a group session
- People don't lose their inhibitions
- The same ideas are repeated again and again
- The session doesn't flow naturally and people feel uncomfortable
- People constantly struggle to think in new ways
- You need a group of people to do it and cannot do it by yourself
- There are too many awkward periods of silence and discomfort
- The sessions are dominated by one or two people
- Some people do not contribute
- The facilitator needs to give constant encouragement to the participants
- The same ideas are repeated again and again
- No successful outcome or solution is reached
Possible causes of the problems
- Many people are uncomfortable in the brainstorming environment
- People do not believe they can be creative
- Authority is accidentally used which makes people feel scared of their actions
- No real objectives are set
- Participants do not know how to think creatively
- Participants do not use creative thinking techniques
- A poor mixture of participants is present
- Different personality types need different brainstorming styles
- None or not enough training has been given
- Not enough guidance and encouragement is given by the facilitator
- No warm-up exercise was used
- The brainstorming environment is hostile to creativity
- People are not using other people's ideas to stimulate their own
Brainstorming by yourself
without the need for a group
You can hold a brainstorming session absolutely any time - and as many times as you want - with no money, time or difficulty spent organizing a group of people. In fact, many individuals find that they can be more creative on their own rather than as part of a traditional brainstorming group! And yet the freedom of being able to brainstorm by yourself is amazingly simple to achieve.
From en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainstorming:
Approach
Brainstorming can be done either individually or in a group. In group brainstorming, the participants are encouraged, and often expected, to share their ideas with one another as soon as they are generated. Complex problems or brainstorm sessions with a diversity of people may be prepared by a chairman. The chairman is the leader and facilitator of the brainstorm session.
The key to brainstorming is to not interrupt the thought process. As ideas come to mind, they are captured and stimulate the development of better ideas. Thus a group brainstorm session is best conducted in a moderate-sized room, and participants sit so that they can all look at each-other. A flip chart, blackboard, or overhead projector is placed in a prominent location. The room is free of telephones, clocks, or any other distractions.
In order to enhance creativity a brainstorm session has four basic rules:
- Focus on quantity
- This rule is a means of enhancing divergent production, aiming to facilitate problem solving through the maxim quantity breeds quality. The greater the number of ideas generated, the greater the chance of producing a radical and effective solution. An individual may revisit a brainstorm, done alone, and approach it with a slightly new perspective. This process can be repeated without limit. The result is collaboration with your past, present and future selves.
- No criticism
- It is often emphasized that in group brainstorming, criticism should be put 'on hold'. Instead of immediately stating what might be wrong with an idea, the participants focus on extending or adding to it, reserving criticism for a later 'critical stage' of the process. By suspending judgment, you create a supportive atmosphere where participants feel free to generate unusual ideas. However, persistent, respectful criticism of ideas by a minority dissenter can reduce groupthink, leading to more and better ideas.
- Unusual ideas are welcome
- To get a good and long list of ideas, unusual ideas are welcomed. They may open new ways of thinking and provide better solutions than regular ideas. They can be generated by looking from another perspective or setting aside assumptions. If an idea is too "wild" to be feasible, it can be tamed down to a more appropriate idea more easily than think up an idea.
- Combine and improve ideas
- Good ideas can be combined to form a very good idea, as suggested by the slogan "1+1=3". Also, existing ideas should be improved. This approach leads to better and more complete ideas than just generation of new ideas, and increases the generation of ideas, by a process of association.
The main reasons why brainstorming does not yield the expected results are faulty operation and exaggerated expectations. When the basic rules and best practices are not followed, or when the group expects miracles, the session will not give the optimal result.
A short brainstorm session
Brainstorming is very well suited for ad-hoc problem solving. A short brainstorm session can be applied in many occasions where a quick solution is needed. For example: students working on a project, a support team looking for a quick solution for their customer or a project team who have to deal with the illness of one of its members.
The session contains, as depicted in Figure 1, three phases:
Figure 1: Activities of a short brainstorm session
Set the problem
Determine and specify the problem which needs a solution. Every participant must know the problem.
Generate ideas
Generate as many ideas as possible. Keep in mind the four basic brainstorm rules and record the good ideas. Continue for five to fifteen minutes.
Select best idea
Select the most appropriated idea from the suggested ideas.
A complex brainstorm session
Preparation
The preparation described here contains the basic activities, but depending on the situation more activities can be added. Figure 2 depicts the preparation activities in an activity diagram.
Figure 2: Activity diagram of preparing of a brainstorm session
Set the problem
One of the most important things to do before a session is to define the problem. The problem must be clear, small enough, and captured in a perfectly definite question such as “What service for mobile phones is not available now, but needed?“. If the problem is too big, the chairman should split it up into smaller components, each with its own question. Some problems seem to be multi-dimensional and non-quantified, for example “What are the aspects involved in being a successful entrepreneur”. Finding solutions for this those can better be done with morphological analysis.
Create a background memo
The background memo is the invitation and information letter for the participants, containing the session name, time, date and place and the problem. The problem is described with its question, and some example ideas are given. The ideas are solutions to the problem, and used when the session slows down or goes off-track. The example ideas also give the participants an idea of the direction upfront. The memo is sent to the participants at least two days in advance, so that they can think about the problem beforehand.
Select participants
The chairman composes the brainstorm panel, consisting of the participants and an idea collector. Many variations are possible but the following composition is advised:
- Five core members of the project who have proved themselves.
- Five guests from outside the project, with affinity to the problem.
- One idea collector who records the suggested ideas.
Create a list of lead questions
During the brainstorm session the creativity may decrease. At this moment, the chairman should boost creativity by suggesting a lead question to an answer, such as "Can we combine those ideas?" or "How about a look from another perspective?". It is advised to prepare a list of such leads before the session.
Session conduct
The chairman; leads the brainstorm session and ensures that the basic brainstorm rules are followed. The activities of a typical session are:
- A warm-up session, to expose novice participants to the criticism-free environment. A simple problem is brainstormed, for example "What should be the next corporate Christmas present?" or "What can be improved in Microsoft Windows?".
- The chairman presents the problem and gives a further explanation if needed.
- The chairman asks the brainstorm panel for their ideas.
- If no ideas are coming out, the chairman suggests a lead to encourage creativity.
- Every participant presents his or her idea, and the idea collector writes down the idea.
- If more than one participant has ideas, the chairman lets the most associated idea be presented first. This selection can be done by looking at the body language of the participants, or just by asking for the most associated idea.
- The participants try to elaborate on the idea, to improve the quality.
- When time is up, the chairman organizes the ideas based on the topic goal and encourages discussion. Additional ideas may be generated.
- Ideas are categorized.
- The whole list is reviewed to ensure that everyone understands the ideas. Duplicate ideas and obviously infeasible solutions are removed.
- The chairman thanks all participants and gives each a token of appreciation.
Best practices
- Participants who have an idea but no possibility to present it should write down their idea and present it later.
- The idea collector should number the ideas, so that the chairman can use the number to encourage quantitative idea generation, for example: "We have 44 ideas now, let’s get it to 50!".
- The idea collector should repeat the idea in the words she has written it, to confirm that it expresses the meaning intended by the originator.
- When more participants are having ideas, the one with the most associated idea should have priority. This to encourage elaboration on previous ideas.
- During the brainstorm session the attendance of managers and superiors is strongly discouraged, as it may radically reduces the effect of the four basic rules, especially the generation of unusual ideas.
The process of conducting a brainstorm session is depicted in Figure 3.
Figure 3: Activity diagram of conducting a brainstorm session
Uses
Brainstorming can be used as a supplement for:
- Individual ideation for quickly generating many potentially useful ideas
- A business conference to stimulate creative thinking in a judicial and relatively unproductive atmosphere.
- Creative training: brainstorming improves the creative attitude towards solving problems and improves the creative ability in groups and individuals.
Although the main purpose of brainstorming is to generate ideas, it has additional benefits:
- Improves initiative that can last after the session, as participants are encouraged to constantly throw in their ideas, to take initiative all the time.
- Improves creative thinking: participants learn to approach problems creatively and use association to create ideas, which they can use after the session.
- Improves morale: Participants work together to find a solution to a problem and every participant is encouraged to take initiative. This can improve the morale of the team and its members.
- Enjoyment: participants usually like the interactive and creative atmosphere.
Variations
Nominal group technique
Nominal group technique is a type of brainstorming that introduces structure to the process. It is useful in ensuring that all participants have an equal say and can be used to generate a ranked list of ideas.
Typically each participant is asked to write down their ideas. Then the moderator asks each participant in turn to express one of their ideas. The moderator writes down each idea on the flip chart. Then each participant copies the group's final list on a blank page giving each idea a score. The pages are collected from each participant and the scores summed, providing a rank-ordered list.
Group passing technique
Each person in a circular group writes down one idea, and then passes their piece of paper to the next person in a clockwise direction, who adds some thoughts. This is repeated until everybody gets their original piece of paper back. By this time, it is likely that the group will have created some powerful ideas.
A popular alternative to this technique is to create an "Idea Book" and post a distribution list or routing slip to the front of the book. On the inside cover (or first page) is the problem definition statement. The first person to receive the book lists his/her ideas and then routes the book to the next person on the distribution list. The second person can log new ideas or add to the ideas of the previous person. This continues until the distribution list is exhausted. A follow-up "read out" meeting is then held to discuss the ideas logged in the book. This technique does take longer, but allows individual thought whenever the person has a spare minute to think deeply about the problem.
Team Idea Mapping Method
This method of brainstorming leverages the natural associative process of the brain. It improves collaboration, increases the quantity of ideas, and is designed so that all attendees participate and no ideas are rejected.
The process starts with a well-defined topic. Each participant creates an individual brainstorm around the topic. All ideas are then merged into one large idea map. During this consolidation phase the participants discover a common understanding of the issues as they share the meanings behind their ideas. As the sharing takes place, the brain will naturally think of additional ideas based on the conversations. Those ideas are added to the large map as well. Now ideas are generated on both the individual and group levels. Once all ideas are captured, the group can prioritize and/or take action.
Selecting a Solution
- When you are sure the brainstorming session is over, it is time to select a solution.
- By using a show of hands (or another voting method), allow each person to vote for as many ideas
on the original list as they want. Note that they only have one vote per generated ideal. - Write the vote tallies next to the ideal. You can use a different color than the ideal to help it stand out.
- Once the voting is completed, delete all items with no votes.
- Next, look for logical breaks. For example, if you have several items with 5 or 6 votes, and no 3 or 4 and only a couple of 1 and 2, then retain only the 5 and 6 votes. The group can help to decide the breaking point.
- Now, it is time to vote again. Each person gets half number of votes as there are ideals left. For example is you narrowed the number of generated ideals down to 20, then each person gets 10 votes (if it is a odd number, round down). Each person will keep track of his or her votes. The scribe should again tally the votes next to the ideal, only this time use a different color.
- Continue this process of elimination until you get down to about 5 ideals.
- Put the remainder ideas into a matrix. Put each ideal into its own row (first column). Next label some columns using selected criteria. For example:
| Generated Idea | Low Cost | Easy to Implement and is Feasible | Will Help Other Processes | TOTAL |
| Outsource it to a vendor. | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Hire a new employee. | ... | ... | ... | ... |
| Share the extra workload. | ... | ... | ... | ... |
- Next, working one column at a time, ask the group to order each idea. Using the above example, which one will cost the least, the most, and will be in the middle.
- Repeat by working the next column until you have completed all columns. Total each column until it looks similar to this:
Generated Idea | Low Cost | Easy to Implement and is Feasible | Will Help Other Processes | TOTAL |
Outsource it to a vendor. | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
Hire a new employee. | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
Share the extra workload. | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
- It this case, the lowest number column, "Hire a new employee," would be the best solution.
- Note that you should work each column first (not each row).
- Some of the columns will require much discussion, as choosing an arbitrary number will not be that easy in some cases.
- Often, you will have a couple of ideas that tie, but having it diagramed out in a matrix makes it much easier to make a decision.
Delphi Decision Making
In Delphi decision groups, a series of questionnaires are sent to selected respondents (Delphi group). The group does not meet face-to-face. All communication is normally in writing (normally letters or email). Members of the groups are selected because the are experts or they have relevant information. Steps include:
- Members are asked to share their assessment and explanation of a problem or predict a future state of affairs
- Replies are gathered, summarized, and then fed back to all the group members.
- Members then make another decision based upon the new information.
- The process may be repeated until the the responses converge satisfactory.
The success of this process depends upon the member's expertise and communication skill. Also, each response requires adequate time for reflection and analysis. The major merits of the Delphi process is:
- Elimination of interpersonal problems.
- Efficient use of expert's time.
- Diversity of ideals.
- Accuracy of solutions and predictions.
Dialectic Decision Making
The dielectric decision method (DDM) traces its roots back to Socrates and Plato. It helps to overcome such problems as converging too quickly one one solution while overlooking others, participants dislike of meetings, incomplete evaluations, and the failure to confront tough issues. The steps of DDM are:- Issue a clear statement of the problem to be solved.
- Two or more competing proposals are generated.
- Members identify the explicit or implicit assumptions that underlie each proposal.
- The team then breaks into advocacy sub, who examine and argue the relative merits of their positions.
- The group reassembles and makes a decision:
- embrace one of the alternatives
- forge a compromise
- generate a new proposal
The process looks like this:
"Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." - Thomas Alva Edison
