Guidelines on Brainstorming Techniques

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Brainstorming is a technique for generating a large number of ideas on a given subject in a limited period of time.  Brainstorming is typically used in a facilitated session or workshop environment to generate creative ideas, to create novel solutions to a problem, and to introduce "chaos" into the thought process.  It is the most widely used technique to generate ideas.  The objective is quantity not necessarily quality.

Applications:

• May introduce too much chaos; needs to be managed firmly
• To collect a large volume of ideas relevant to any enterprise change effort
• To stimulate thinking to maximize participation and contribution without evaluation
• To promote creativity when a project team may be bogged down or unaccustomed to new ways of doing business

Steps:

1. Confirm objective and content of the brainstorming session.
2. Confirm rules of operation and/or other instructions with participants.
3. Appoint a scribe to take down information.
4. Conduct session; ensure all relevant contributions have been made.
5. Review for clarification and summarize results.
6. Perform appropriate next steps.

Instructions:

Before starting the session, confirm with participants the following:

• Objectives
• Area of focus
• Rules of operation

Typical conventions for running a session include:

• All contributions are welcome
• Everybody contributes
• No criticism
• Everyone has the right to pass

Sometimes it is useful to have one or more scribes to help document the contributions to allow the session moderator or facilitator to focus on managing the session.  It is best to use a white board or flip chart so everyone can keep track of the ideas.

Start soliciting ideas.  A "round-robin style" is often useful.  Simply go around the room and solicit one idea from each participant, allowing participants the right to "pass."  Continue around the room until the ideas begin to run out and then open up for anyone.  (This process provides more order and can be helpful if no scribe is available. Otherwise, let the ideas fly!)

Keep the atmosphere relaxed and informal to encourage participation.

• Do not evaluate ideas when stated.
• Clarify statements to capture intent, not for analyzing.
• Build on others' contributions.
• Encourage wild ideas.
• Limit the amount of time to collect ideas.
• Use multiple scribes to document ideas on flip charts or white boards.

At the end of the idea generation phase review the list to remove duplicates.  The team should discuss any ideas that are not clear.  The result is a list of ideas that address a specific topic.

Tips to restart the thinking process include:

• Use and encourage analogies (".How do other companies solve this problem?  What have they done in similar situations?)
• Ask an inverted question (".How might we achieve the opposite of our corporate sub-goals?  What processes should we do to avoid achieving our goals?), and/or
• Personalize through immersion (".How does this affect your job?)

When exploring breakthrough concepts use Brainstorming to generate nonprocedural concepts and ideas to provide the foundation in building a new process.  Use the technique to focus the project team on inventing a new approach, and a new business philosophy.  Recognize that in using Brainstorming for this subtask there are implications to consider, such as:

• New approaches will often require new work activities as well as eliminating activities no longer required, and
• The difference between the old and new philosophies must be understood so that the "sacred cow" or limiting beliefs of the old approaches can be confronted and converted.