Methods
Brainstorming
Facts:
- Also called: Creative Thinking, Thought Showers, Lateral Thinking
- Lifecycle stages: All
Brainstorming is an individual or group process for generating alternative ideas or solutions for a specific topic. Good brainstorming focuses on the quantity and creativity of ideas: the quality of ideas is much less important than the sheer quantity. After ideas are generated, they are often grouped into categories and prioritized for subsequent research or application.
- Basic Description
- How To
- Special Considerations
Outcomes and Deliverables
The outcomes of brainstorming are:
- A list of ideas or solutions related to a particular problem.
- The ideas or solutions organized into groups
- Some form of prioritization based on attributes like cost and feasibility.
Benefits, Advantages and Disadvantages
Benefits
- Many ideas can be generated in a short time.
- Requires few material resources.
- The results can be used immediately or "preserved" for possible use in other projects.
Advantages
- Is a "democratic" way of generating ideas (assuming a good facilitator).
- Is a useful way to get over "design" blocks that are slowing development.
- The concept of brainstorming is easy to understand.
Disadvantages
- Requires an experienced and sensitive facilitator who understands the social psychology of small groups.
- Requires a dedication to quantity rather than quality.
- Can be chaotic and intimidating to introverts.
- May not be appropriate for some business or international cultures.
Read More About It
Originators/Popularizers
Osborn, A. F. (1963). Applied imagination: Principles and procedures of creative problem-solving (Third Revised Edition).
Paulus, P. B., & Brown, V. R. (2003). Enhancing ideational creativity in groups: Lessons from research on brainstorming. In P. B. Paulus & B. A. Nijstad (Eds.), Group Creativity: Innovation Through Collaboration (pp. 110-136).
Authoritative References
Osborn, A. F. (1963). Applied imagination: Principles and procedures of creative problem-solving (Third Revised Edition).
Paulus, P. B., &Nikstad, B. A. (Eds.) (2003) Group Creativity: Innovation Through Collaboration (pp. 110-136).
Published Studies
Milliken, F. J., & Martins, L. (1996). Searching for common threads: Understanding the multiple effects of diversity in organizational groups.
Milliken, F. J., Bartel, C. A., & Kurtzberg, T. R. (2003). Diversity and creativity and work groups: A dynamic perspective on the affective and cognitive processes that link diversity and performance. In P. B. Paulus and B. A. Nikstad (Eds.). Group Creativity: Innovation through collaboration.
Paulus, P. B., & Dzindolet, M. T. (1993). Social influence processes in group brainstorming: The illusion of group productivity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 575-586.
Related Subjects
- Brainwriting: Brainwriting is the generation of ideas by writing them down on sheets of paper and passing them to other members of a group who then add their ideas. There is no verbal component to the brainwriting process.
- Nominal Group Technique: In this variation of traditional brainstorming (and brainwriting), participants are given a topic or question and asked to write down ideas or solutions privately. The ideas are then listed on a board by going around the table and having each person read out their new ideas. When all ideas are listed publicly, the facilitator asks if any clarification is needed. If clarification is needed, the person who proposed the idea has 10-30 seconds to explain (but not defend the idea). After everyone understands all the ideas, the participants vote on the ideas using a secret ballot. This method is designed to remove social pressure from participants.
- Braindrawing: Braindrawing is a technique for gathering visual design ideas from a group. There are several variations, but the general approach is to ask everyone in the group to start sketching out ideas related to a design question. After a short time the ideas are handed to someone else who then adds or modifies the previous sketch. After several rounds, the sketches are collected and posted on a table or wall (or computer screen). The facilitator then reviews the sketches with the group and good ideas and comments are recorded.
- Video brainstorming: Participants use various prototyping components to "act out" possible interaction scenarios with a product. The scenarios are videotaped.
- Posting: In posting, an idea is written down along with two columns labeled "Advantages" and "Disadvantages". The group then brainstorms the advantages and disadvantages.