ABSTRACT
Brainstorming Brainstorming isn’t a very specific term but it can loosely be defined as a creativity technique designed to generate ideas for the solution to a problem. ere are as many ways to do brainstorming as there are people, so we won’t try to belabor it, but instead present a few ideas that we think are relevant and useful. First, let’s describe the typical approach:
Define the problem clearly. ◾ Assemble a group that includes SMEs and outsiders. ◾ Explain the problem and background to the participants. ◾ Explain the brainstorming rules, typically: ◾
No criticism of ideas. − Clarification questions are allowed. −
It is OK to offer an idea that is an extension of another one. − It is OK to combine ideas to create new ones. − Focus on quantity. We want lots of ideas to start with! −
Hold a warm-up exercise to get people into a creative mindset (many ways ◾ to do this). Have the group suggest ideas (many techniques for this, too). ◾ Number and record the ideas as they are presented. ◾ Stop when the group is worn out (like waiting for the last popcorn kernel to ◾ pop, when volume slows way down, stop it). Either with this same group or a smaller one you can then categorize ideas ◾ into groups, eliminate duplicates and obviously impractical ones, and go through an assessment process to select one or more to work with.
