Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a powerful technique for generating a wide range of ideas and potential solutions to a problem. It encourages participants to think creatively and build upon each other's suggestions, leading to innovative outcomes.
Use brainstorming when you need to generate a large quantity of ideas quickly, explore different perspectives, and foster a collaborative environment for problem-solving.
Solves: Lack of creative ideas, limited perspectives, dominant voices overshadowing others.
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Step 1: Individual Idea Generation (5-10 minutes). Each participant silently generates their own ideas related to the problem or challenge and writes them down on sticky notes.
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Step 2: Idea Sharing (15-20 minutes). Participants take turns sharing their ideas, one at a time. The facilitator captures each idea on a whiteboard or virtual whiteboard, without judgment or discussion.
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Step 3: Idea Building (10-15 minutes). Encourage participants to build upon each other's ideas, combining and modifying them to create new possibilities.
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Step 4: Clustering and Prioritization (10-15 minutes). Group similar ideas together and then prioritize the clusters based on feasibility, impact, or other relevant criteria.
- Encourage wild ideas and defer judgment during the idea generation phase.
- Actively facilitate the discussion to ensure everyone has a chance to contribute.
- Keep the energy high and the pace moving to maintain momentum.
- Brainwriting (silent brainstorming)
- Reverse Brainstorming (identifying potential problems)
- SCAMPER (using a checklist to spark new ideas)