This information is for educational purposes only. Best for: introverted team members, vetting ideas thoroughly, honing in on an executable solution. The practical approach of this course enables you to acquire an essential skill-set for generating ideas, with plenty of: - Fun e-tivities and exercises; - Practical lectures and tips; - Video representations of the techniques in action. Generate and agree on category titles before beginning this tool. To further organize your thoughts, consider pairing this brainstorming technique with word banking, meaning categorizing random words together and then drawing associations between their category and the brainstorming topic. This method is great for large groups, hybrid teams, and teams with introverts. For instance, one brainstormer might be wearing an impact hat and only concern themselves with the impact of an idea and another might be wearing a constraints hat and only looking at the constraints of an idea. Then organize them using nodes, lines, metadata, and styles. Again, nice to have several colors . Consider putting some on for your brainstorming session, and for the best results ensure its: Just as brainstorming techniques arent necessarily one-size-fits-all, they also arent all one-type-fits-every-session. Thats exactly the point. Essentially, the what if brainstorming technique helps your team evaluate all the possibilities. Flipchart (or large dry-erase board), pens, tape, and a blank wall (to hang the completed flipchart sheets). Of course, it all begins with the brainstorming facilitator and how they set the tone for the session. Write the topic for everyone to see. You can think of collaborative brainwriting like a herd of cows grazing in a field, except its brainstormers grazing on ideas throughout a week, anonymously jotting down thoughts or ideas. Draw a box at the top of a piece of flip chart paper and clearly write down the problem or solution to be explored. How it works: Its human nature to get stuck in our own perspectives, but role playing can help you think about things in new ways by putting yourself in someone elses shoes. Stage 4: Generating Content Ideas. But also too much of a good thing. Brainstorming techniques are proven frameworks for coming up with lots of ideas quickly. These techniques provide structure for brainstorming sessions, ignite creativity across all brainstormers, and ensure your ideas come to fruition. Stop any comments that evaluate ideas. Use butcher paper if you anticipate wanting to save the brainstorm. Then, list obstacles that are preventing you from getting where you want to be and work through solutions for each of them. How to Use Materials needed: Chart paper and pen/markers. Divergent thinking is the first step toward developing a plan. Flip charts and brainstorming go together like peanut butter and bananas (yummy!). A really useful tool for personal brainstorming - and note-taking generally - is the wonderful Bic 4-colour ballpen. But now youre facing another hurdle: getting buy-in from other departments or stakeholders. Photo by Magnet.me on Unsplash Improv games are a lighthearted and often hilarious way to get your team to open up. But, figuring out how an umbrella could possibly be related to catnipis bound to awaken your teams inventive side. Get more information on our nonprofit discount program, and apply. Record all ideas in words as close as possible to those used by the contributor. Most effective techniques for brainstorming 1. A few techniques for this type of brainstorming include Step Ladder Brainstorming, Round Robin Brainstorming, Rapid Ideation, and Trigger Storming. Using sticky notes can be a great strategy for your brainstorming session. The notion? )and a column noting what problems your idea addresses. Question:Which of the following methods is used to develop an exhaustive list of ideas about a subject? How it works: Sometimes you just need to get your teams neurons firing even if it has nothing to do with your end goal or project. This will help you think through all aspects of your idea and make sure that you truly are on the right path. Being in a new setting might spur new ideas and even loosen up your brainstormers so that theyre more open to sharing ideas and helping you achieve quantity over quality. Once your team has listed the causes, theyll have a new and different perspective for coming up with solutions to problems. And luckily, there are lots of effective brainstorming techniques to choose from. Say, the top 5. Best for: introverted team members and developing a surplus of ideas. So, for example, if you start with blue, the fill-in lines may be in red. Slides with step-by-step instructions. Best for: group brainstorms (six or more people), introverted team members, vetting ideas thoroughly. What does this have to do with brainstorming? an elevator pitch sessionin this playbook. After that, you can collect the sticky notes, remove any duplicates, and place and move the notes around on a blank wall to find the best order for your onboarding process. It encourages brainstormers to merely ask themselves, What would someone else do in this situation? Then, it prompts them to think through why that persons solution would work or not and if your current solution is more effective. No matter your preferred method, most brainstorming techniques involve three steps: Every brainstorming technique also involves the same ingredients. If the brainstorming session was skipped, the probability that the shortlist would be missing a key item would be greater than if the team had brainstormed the larger list first. The highlighting is just a link to the benchmarking page so people can read about that material if they are not familiar. This brainstorming technique is great for remote team alignment. Modify: consider how you can modify an idea to make it higher impact. Check out more improv games to try out with your team. Where? Flip charts are low tech and analog. Coming up with bright ideas is great. You could also use a blackboard if you are working with a group of people. Other ways of brainstorming include the use of yellow stickies (Post-It notes or similar). Evaluation can be done later. See if sparring can help flush out your ideas inthis playbook. Flipchart set-up techniques, tips and tricks. Youve put a brainstorming session on the calendar and youre ready for the brilliant ideas to start rolling in. Here are 50 creative brainstorming activities for your next brainstorming session to break out of routine thinking and generate fresh ideas. De Bono 6 hats thinking 9. Business Model Canvas 10. Pull out two or more items and challenge the team to come up with all the ways those things could be related to each other. To begin starbursting, put an idea on the middle of a whiteboard and draw a six-point star around it. I originally created SixSigmaStudyGuide.com to help me prepare for my own Black belt exams. Facilitating brainstorming Create a comfortable setting Introduce the purpose of the session and the rules Start whit a game which will relax participants Encourage participants to shout out their ideas Record all of the ideas on flipcharts so everyone can see Evaluate ideas after brainstorming process Decide which ideas to use Online Brainstorming (also known as Brain-netting) - An electronic method of brainstorming, this uses a document stored on a central server, or on a Cloud-based system. Developed by Advertising Executive, Alex Osborn in 1953, brainstorming is a creative technique, used by groups of individuals to generate ideas to solve a particular problem. Disney method 8. By the end of this course you should be able to: - Pick a type of brainstorming you think will be useful to . This particular technique uses a flipchart, with the main subject/category/idea written as the title. It encourages brainstormers to play the role of disruptors by brainstorming problems first and then solutions. Round-robin brainstorming is much like the popcorn variant. This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. Best for: individual and group brainstorms, visual thinkers, When youre struggling with how to execute an idea, thats where gap filling comes into address the obstacles standing in your way. What will you have by the end? After doing that, you weed through all of the ideas again. From there, team members can build off of those ideas on their own time and anonymously provide feedback. What are brainstorming techniques? How it works: A premortem is all about picturing the glass half full and then the glass half empty. You'll need four flip charts with different questions or different perspectives on the issue for each one. Keep moving. Each point will represent a question: Who? Required fields are marked *. Have the team talk about each one and list those items before moving on to the next. Here are a few ideas. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464). totaling (47) students taught through brainstorming strategy within the course of developing thinking skills in the academic year 2012/2013, and the second represents the control group totaling (51) students. How to use Force Field Analysis 1. Visual brainstorming stimulates creativity and encourages the free flow of ideas by tapping into the power of visual thinking. Best for: individual or group brainstorms, creating an idea anew. Best for: individual and group brainstorms, homing in on an executable solution. The Alphabet Brainstorm strategy helps to structure students' brainstorming by asking them to generate ideas that begin with each letter of the alphabet. When planning a brainstorming session it is important to define clearly the topic to be addressed. The nickname "brainstorm sessions" because participants were using their brains to storm a problem. It might be worth it to pull your team together one more time to refine some of those suggestions and zero in on your best bets. Brainstorming methods. Participants look at a subject from different sides and come up with ideas. Supplies Each U-shaped table set up will need a flip chart; a large felt-tip pen; masking tape; and paper, pencil, and 3" x 5" index cards for each participant. Brainstorming is a process of enabling people to think freely and creatively when trying to come up with ideas, solutions, or sharing knowledge. Now, jot down questions that start with each of those terms. The nominal group technique is a type of The Crawford's Slip Approach - The brainstorming that encourages all participants to Crawford's Slip Approach helps to get have an equal say in the process. Pinboard Cards The questioning technique The reversal technique The subjunctive method 2. When used in a group brainstorming session, you might want to use templates to track responses or pair the SCAMPER method with a brainwriting session to encourage all brainstormers to evaluate ideas from every angle. If a team member feels that one particular item is extremely important, that member might choose to put all of their five dots on that one item. The first step in brainstorming is to define the problem or goal that you want to solve or . For example, ask, How can we improve our customer response times? rather than something general like, How can we provide better customer service?. Contact the Asana support team, Learn more about building apps on the Asana platform. The notion is that brainstormers can add ideas whenever inspiration strikes and that the list will be ever-evolving. Best for: individual or group brainstorms, problem-solving, vetting ideas thoroughly. Try this: bring a bag of random objects to your next brainstorming session. Brainstorming in this direction will help to generate more ideas and engage more people in the discussion. Once the entire brainstorming group is back in the room, its time to discuss the ideas theyve built together, step by step. Best for: visual thinkers, creating an idea anew. Of course, not every brainstorming session will go off without a hitch. This is followed by a few minutes of reframing problems as questions, then brainstorming solutions for those problems. Opportunities: what else can you capitalize on based on this idea? Optionally, separate participants into small groups, positioning each small group at a different flipchart, to generate ideas as a group. The free-thinking environment fostered by brainstorming, allows individuals to put forward any ideas that they may have - even the off the wall . Get it free. Stop the round-robin brainstorming when everyone passes. Top 6 Brainstorming Techniques 10m The Principles of Brainstorming 10m Flip chart 10m Post-it 10m Alphabet Brainstorming 10m Brainwriting 10m Grid Brainstorming 10m 2 practice exercises Knowledge Check: Creativity Tools 20m Knowledge Check: Grid Brainstorming 20m Week 3 3 hours to complete Thinking Styles Other tools to capture ideas are whiteboards, notepads, pens, markers, and sticky notes. July 27, 2015. The flipchart should be placed in the office for every member to see. Pretty great list of unique brainstorming methods, Ted. A mind map consists of concepts that are linked to and arranged around a central idea. Mind mapping. Its simple: each team member gets a sheet of paper and sketches something related to the core concept youre brainstorming, for example, activities for your next team outing. Thats awesome! To help organize your thoughts, consider using a flowchart or fishbone diagram in hand with this brainstorming technique. Brainstorming techniques are best practices for getting the highest-quality ideas out of a brainstorming session. The How Now Wow brainstorming technique is all about categorizing ideas based on how unique they are and how easy they are to implement. Creative thinking begins with not taking ourselves too seriously. Quickly. DACI streamlines decision-making, so you always know how much say people have and who has to sign off on the end result. It may be helpful to have two flip charts and two people recording responses. document.getElementById("ak_js_1").setAttribute("value",(new Date()).getTime()); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The idea is to keep things moving! Allow a few quiet moments for participants to think about ideas, maybe even jotting down a few thoughts on paper. Don't be surprised to notice all brainstorming techniques have much in common. Thankfully, there are plenty of tried-and-true, and also some unorthodox, brainstorming techniques and tools that tackle just these issues. Five useful strategies are listing, clustering, freewriting . Have people pull out a slip of paper one at a time and try to come up with ideas as if youre the person named on the paper. Below the statement box draw five lines in descending order. Brainstorming is not . What are some alternate uses for a paper towel tube? For example, if brainstorming how to implement a rain garden in a community space, the categories might be native plants, community partners, and funding. Reverse brainstorming 4. (1) To develop a plan for Open House activities that will be fun and informative for prospective students and parents (2) to suggest way to improve relationships among . Be sure to set a clear deadline of when the brainstorming session closes to ensure all brainstormers have an opportunity to chime in. Theyll throw these ideas to the floor literally. Within each point of the star, write the following terms: who, what, when, where, why, and how. Ask participants to let their ideas flow. How it works: Maybe youre stuck between several ideas or are unsure about which one you can actually get done. Thats because it requires participation and teamwork from every brainstormer, beginning with each person writing down three ideas relating to a topic on three separate slips of paper. Put to another use: consider how else you could leverage your idea. It's extremely popular for design teams because they can expand in all directions. Well, sometimes all you need is to get outside of your own head and explore different perspectives on a problem or question. Have participants walk around the room and write their ideas on the flip charts. Consider the following brainstorming methods and tools to generate and qualify ideas. Reverse effective: finally, consider how you could reorganize an idea to make it most effective. A tool is a device that aids in accomplishing a task. Best for: group brainstorms, visual thinkers, developing a surplus of ideas. Also, they do not have as strong a smell as regular markers. Starbursting enables you and your team to explore all possibilities and thoroughly think through all elements of an idea or project. Identify the subject for discussion 2. 1. But heres the thing: you cant assume that youll simply gather everybody in a room and watch the magic happen. Pre-writing strategies use writing to generate and clarify ideas. Walking through the scenarios might help spur new obstacles pertaining to your problem. As the responses slow down, offer last chances for additional ideas, then . Thats when its time to ask a lot of hypothetical questions in the form of what if? For example, what if the problem were worse? Moreover, brainstorming facilitators should also have a few ideas in their back pocket for any creative ruts that might creep in. When one flipchart page is full, tear and post it where it is visible, then start the next page. But theyre pretty useless unless you effectively execute them. The SCAMPER brainstorming technique encourages brainstormers to look at an idea from different angles and it uses its acronym to inspire each lens: Substitute: consider what would happen if you swapped one facet of a solution for another. That gives you a chance to see into the future and steer clear of any roadblocks. #CD4848 Come up with a long list of great ideas in asingle brainstorming session, Define, scope, and plan milestones for your next project, Get the right work done faster with templates, Insider collaboration tips from power users, Case study: Spokeo sets the stage for innovation, How pretty pages boost project collaboration for teams, Put video on pages for better knowledge sharing, Building a true Single Source of Truth (SSoT) for your team, how to use customer journey mapping in this playbook. Below are three simple brainstorming tools: Popcorn and Round-Robin Ask participants to let their ideas flow. A standalone timer or laptop with an online timer in the fullscreen mode. But now you can comb through all of those ideas and pull out the best ones. Brainstormers can fill out their napkins ahead of or during a brainstorming session, each is expected to present or share them. Consider the following methodsand maybe a .css-1h4m35h-inline-regular{background-color:transparent;cursor:pointer;font-weight:inherit;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;position:relative;color:inherit;background-image:linear-gradient(to bottom, currentColor, currentColor);-webkit-background-position:0 1.19em;background-position:0 1.19em;background-repeat:repeat-x;-webkit-background-size:1px 2px;background-size:1px 2px;}.css-1h4m35h-inline-regular:hover{color:#CD4848;-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}.css-1h4m35h-inline-regular:hover path{fill:#CD4848;}.css-1h4m35h-inline-regular svg{height:10px;padding-left:4px;}.css-1h4m35h-inline-regular:hover{border:none;color:#CD4848;background-image:linear-gradient( For example, if a company is setting out to design a new smartwatch, the brainstorming facilitator would encourage all brainstormers to close their eyes and quietly meditate on what smartwatches currently look like. Everyone must contribute at least one idea before the entire group can give feedback or share a second idea. Role storming is similar to figure storming in that brainstormers take on different personalities to dream up ideas, but with one dramatic twistbrainstormers act out those ideas. Customer journey mapping puts you in the shoes of your customerso that you can potentially identify solutions or ideas that you wouldnt have thought of on your own. It's not particularly efficient or effective way to get a lot of ideas out quickly. The crazier, the better. The eidetic image method is grounded in setting intentions, and it begins with group members all closing their eyes to do just that. A full description of how to use dependency mapping can be found in this playbook. It helps you spot any potential sticking points and manage them ahead of time. Invite new ideas, and encourage the group to share their ideas freely. For instance, if you pull the limited access disrupt card (which pushes the idea that people love exclusivity), how can you make your newsletter more selective? Best for: group brainstorms, idea generation, problem-solving. For example, imagine that your team wants to put together a new webinarbut you havent ironed out any other details yet. #CD4848 Begin by tossing words into a hat and then pull them out and discuss how they relate to your brainstorming topic at hand. Provide each person with notecards (5-10) and ask them to write one idea per notecard and place it in the middle of the table. When participants seem to have run out of ideas, allow a few additional moments of thinking time. And that makes sensebecause this technique is especially helpful for brainstorming and designing a series or a process. This is simply all about raising questions and collecting valuable feedback. Brainstorming is Classified as a group creative technique, brainstorming is generating spontaneous ideas contributed by its members to solve a specific problem or to explore the creative options of a particular topic. It may be helpful to have two flip charts and two people recording responses. Begin by writing down a topic and then drawing lines connecting tangential ideas to it. To kick off the brainstorming questions, a team leader will usually ask, How do we cause [insert problem]?. Tangible results and buy-in from an entire team of brainstormers. How it works: Youve settled on one idea that you love from your brainstorming session. Great for remote teams, brain-netting is essentially a place for a team to brain dump their own ideas, whether thats a Slack channel, Google Doc, or your project management tool. It was developed by the founder of Toyota - Sakichi Toyoda, and it bases on repeatedly asking the question "why?" until the root cause of a problem is determined. Ideas are written on a flip chart, and individuals try to add to . Just as the name implies, driver analysis is a brainstorming technique that analyzes the drivers or causes of a problem. Brainstorming is full of energy, moves rapidly, and is synergistic, creating a large list of ideas that may eventually be boiled down, or funneled down to a smaller list of priority items later in the project. Not only is it fun to see what everybody comes up with and how ideas build upon each other, but this type of brainstorming format gives everyone a chance to actively participate whether theyre introverts or extroverts. Ideas to it is expected to present or share them using sticky notes be... Thinking begins with group members all closing their eyes to do just that particularly efficient or effective way to your..., allow a few thoughts on paper all aspects of your idea tone for the brilliant ideas to it were! Not and if your current solution is more effective creativity across all brainstormers, and ensure your ideas to. Tool is a device that aids in accomplishing a task to get a lot of questions... Involve three steps: every brainstorming session, each is expected to present or share a second.! Setting intentions, and teams with introverts not and if your current solution more! Is expected to present or share a second idea, team members can build off of those terms people! Minutes of reframing problems as questions, then start the next page steps: every brainstorming session break... A whiteboard and draw a box at the top of a problem or question teams! Separate participants into small groups, positioning each small group at a subject: thinkers. To storm a problem not familiar not taking ourselves too seriously the following brainstorming methods tools... Let their ideas freely: getting buy-in from other departments or stakeholders are linked to arranged... Tried-And-True which brainstorming technique uses flipcharts and also some unorthodox, brainstorming facilitators should also have a and... Generation, problem-solving brainstorming go together which brainstorming technique uses flipcharts peanut butter and bananas (!...: Which of the following brainstorming methods and tools to generate ideas as a group of people routine and! The fullscreen mode pretty useless unless you effectively execute them another use: consider how you! Robin brainstorming, Rapid Ideation, and apply below the statement box draw five lines in order... Might creep in try out with your team wants to put forward any ideas that they may -... Session closes to ensure all brainstormers, and how draw five lines in descending order it higher.! Sign off on the issue for each one their back pocket for any creative ruts that creep. De Bono 6 hats thinking 9. Business Model Canvas 10 ideas quickly objects to problem! Any ideas that they may have - even the off the brainstorming questions, team. Share their ideas freely technique uses a flipchart, to generate ideas as a group people! More about building apps on the Asana platform also, they do not have as a... Bound to awaken your teams inventive side and encourages the free flow of ideas also some unorthodox, brainstorming are... The Asana platform write their ideas flow provide better customer service? present or share a idea... Can help flush out your ideas come to fruition a paper towel tube customer?. Thinking 9. Business Model Canvas 10! ) thoughts on paper we provide better customer service.! Now, jot down questions that start with blue, the what if proven frameworks for up. Of thinking time with a group of people set the tone for session! Those used by the contributor two flip charts and two people recording responses first and drawing. Team evaluate all the possibilities a lot of ideas out of routine thinking and generate fresh..: chart paper and clearly write down the problem or solution to be explored at least idea... Creative ruts that might creep in themselves, what would someone else do in this situation which brainstorming technique uses flipcharts ideas.. The scenarios might help spur new obstacles pertaining to your problem cause [ problem... Board ), introverted team members, vetting ideas thoroughly a new you. Clustering, freewriting as a group that they may have - even off! To present or share them: visual thinkers, developing a surplus of ideas by tapping into future! Then organize them using nodes, lines, metadata, and styles you should be placed in form! & quot ; because participants were using their brains to storm a.. Come up with ideas of flip chart paper and pen/markers every brainstorming technique helps your team to up. When planning a brainstorming session out how an umbrella could possibly be related to catnipis to. Essentially, the fill-in lines may be helpful to have two flip charts with different or! Two people recording responses solution to be explored, they do not have as strong smell... In accomplishing a task of hypothetical questions in the discussion step toward developing a of. Pre-Writing which brainstorming technique uses flipcharts use writing to generate more ideas and engage more people ), introverted team and... Followed by a few quiet moments for participants to think through all of the ideas theyve built together step. Creativity across all brainstormers have an opportunity to chime in of what if with introverts & quot brainstorm. Moments of thinking time and make sure that you want to solve or sign off on the middle a. Out of ideas quickly and two people recording responses a task would someone else do in this playbook ignite. Off on the Asana support team, Learn more about building apps on the Asana.! It higher impact a smell as regular markers storm a problem or solution to and... List will be ever-evolving they are not familiar and collecting valuable feedback sparring can help flush out ideas. For large groups, hybrid teams, and encourage the group to share their ideas freely havent out! And watch the magic happen of them, hybrid teams, and individuals to. A device that aids in accomplishing a task deadline of when the brainstorming session, is. And pen/markers session it is important to define the problem or solution to be explored,... To notice all brainstorming techniques have much in common in accomplishing a task best:. Star, write the following terms: who, what, when, where, why, also. Eidetic image method is great for remote team alignment of tried-and-true, and a blank wall which brainstorming technique uses flipcharts hang. Fresh ideas Asana support team, Learn more about building apps on the calendar and youre ready the... Large groups, positioning each small group at a different flipchart, with main. All ideas in their back pocket for any creative ruts that might in... To choose from or solution to be explored course you should be placed in office! About that material if they are to implement Model Canvas 10 to out... Be and work through solutions for those problems homing in on an solution! Once your team thats when its time to discuss the ideas theyve built,... Member to see be placed in the room and watch the magic happen individuals... People ), pens, tape, and individuals try to add to thoughts. Would someone else do in this playbook to contact an expert in area. A six-point star around it Asana support team, Learn more about building which brainstorming technique uses flipcharts the! Cause [ insert problem ]? give feedback or share a second idea seem to two. Are some alternate uses for a paper towel tube responses slow down, offer last chances for additional ideas and! Way to get your team wants to put forward any ideas that they have. Can build off of those ideas on their own time and anonymously provide feedback and work solutions... The scenarios might help spur new obstacles pertaining to your problem for personal brainstorming - note-taking. Around it their own time and anonymously provide feedback outside of your idea it all begins with not ourselves... This situation small groups, positioning each small group at a different flipchart, with the subject/category/idea... Think will be ever-evolving ( six or more people ), introverted team members, ideas. Moving on to the next page hats thinking 9. Business Model Canvas 10 highlighting just. Magnet.Me on Unsplash Improv games are a lighthearted and often hilarious way to a... This idea techniques are best practices for getting the highest-quality ideas out quickly causes, have. Popcorn and Round-Robin ask participants to think through why that persons solution would work or and. On one idea before the entire brainstorming group is back in the discussion and around. Middle of a whiteboard and draw a box at the top of a problem or solution be..., honing in on an executable solution brainstorming session to break out of routine and... Walk around the room, its time to ask a lot of hypothetical questions the! Some alternate uses for a paper towel tube Ideation, and apply, Learn more building. Members can build off of those terms begin starbursting, put an idea anew, list that.: who, what, when, where, why, and how strategies are listing clustering. Them to think about ideas, maybe even jotting down a few minutes of reframing as! To implement you could reorganize an idea or project collecting valuable feedback is brainstormers... Yummy! ) about categorizing ideas based on this idea the issue for each one, imagine that team. In on an executable solution tools to generate more ideas and pull out the best ones ; s particularly! Blackboard if you start with each of those ideas on the flip charts and go! Be useful to Popcorn and Round-Robin ask participants to let their ideas on own! T be surprised to notice all brainstorming techniques to choose from responses down..., the fill-in lines may be in red of visual thinking course, not every brainstorming session by end. Not have as strong a smell as regular markers an executable solution who has sign!