Technique - Brainstorming

Description

Brainstorming is a technique intended to produce a broad or diverse set of options. Brainstorming works by focusing on a topic or problem and then coming up with many possible solutions to it. To heighten creativity, participants are encouraged to use new ways of looking at things and freely associate in any direction.

Purpose

The aim of brainstorming is to produce numerous new ideas, and to derive from them themes for further analysis.

Strengths

• Ability to elicit many ideas in a short time period. • Non-judgmental environment enables creative thinking. • Can be useful during a workshop to reduce tension between participants.

Element: Preparation

• Develop a clear and concise definition of the area of interest. • Determine a time limit for the group to generate ideas; the larger the group, the more time required. • Identify the facilitator and participants in the session (6 to 8 people). • Set expectations with participants and get their buy-in to the process.

Element: Wrap-up

• Once the time limit is reached, discuss and evaluate the ideas using the predetermined evaluation criteria. • Create a condensed list of ideas, combine ideas where appropriate, and eliminate duplicates. • Rate the ideas, and then distribute the final list of ideas to the appropriate parties.

Weaknesses

• Participation is dependent on individual creativity and willingness to participate. • Organizational and interpersonal politics may limit overall participation.

Element: Session

• Share new ideas without any discussion, criticism, or evaluation. • Visibly record all ideas. • Encourage participants to be creative, share exaggerated ideas, and build on the ideas of others. • Don't limit the number of ideas as the goal is to elicit as many as possible within the time period.