Brainstorming - Creative

Problem Solving Method

 Session objectives
What is brainstorming
Why and when use it
How to organise and lead a successful
brainstorming session
What mistakes are to be avoided
Additional creative problem solving
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methods

UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 What is brainstorming
The best way how to have a good idea is
to have many ideas

Alex F. Osborne, 1939

method of thinking up solutions, concepts,
ideas in problem solving
using the brain to storm new ideas in groups
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It is easier to tone down a wild idea than to think

up a new one.

UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 What is brainstorming
Powerful tool for design teams
Used to generate ideas in a group
Can be used on any sub-problem
It is best after knowing the main design
requirements
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UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 Why and When Use It
the creative process is not always easy (problems
of fear, criticism, no existing solutions yet)
one person has a limited capacity
people tend to judge new ideas immediately (a
change is difficult for a human being)
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Creative thinking require

appropriate tools !

UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 How does it work

in a group of people
free associations to the topic given
relaxed and friendly atmosphere
deferred judgements release the human
mind, lateral thinking
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As many ideas as possible, no

matter how crazy they are

UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 The key rules

1. relaxed atmosphere - completely free

2. no criticism or judgements
3. quantity matters
4. all ideas legitimate
5. all ideas put on the sheet of paper
6. evaluation only after the session
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UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 The key rules

Relax
Have fun
Support not criticize
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UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 The key rules

No boundaries
Completely free your mind
No limits on the number of ideas
Fragmented ideas OK
Just keywords OK
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UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 The key rules

No criticizing (during or after)

No evaluating or dismissing
No dismissing EVEN your own ideas
No You must be joking looks or
comments
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UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 The key rules

Explain quickly (few seconds)

No questions
Let ideas you dont understand go
Speed is the key
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Important is Association not

Viability

UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 The key rules

Avoid subtle evaluations

How is it going to do
Isn't this violating the rules
That is an excellent idea
How is this different than that idea
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UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 The key rules

Select a moderator
No dominating
No interrupting
No passing
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UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 The key rules

Short session (20 minutes)

Create ideas in silence
Multiple rounds
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UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 BENEFITS of brainstorming
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UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 Why and When Use It
Specific questions:
- How can we promote our products?
- What can our company do in 5 years hence?
- What can we do to solve the problem XY?
- How can we improve co-operation of A and B?
- What do our customers really want?

- What opportunities do we have this year?

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- How can we have more fun at work?

UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 BRAINSTORMING CONSTRAINTS

does not rank the ideas

cannot help you select the important
ones
does not suggest the best solutions
must be amended by other
methods
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UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 Organising a session?

1. PREPARATION PHASE

3. EVALUATION

2. CONDUCT THE
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SESSION

UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 1. PREPARATION PHASE

Specify the problem

What do we really want?
Invite people Select the right people
make sure they up to 10 12
have time different positions
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Decide when and where

place and time matters
U layout of the room
UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 Idea Trigger Method
Phase I: Idea Purge Phase
The objective is declared.
Many ideas written rapidly on sheet of paper.
There is a relaxation break after two minutes.
The process continues for another minute.
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UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 Idea Trigger Method
Phase II: Idea Trigger Phase
Leader calls each member for their ideas.
Team members cross out shared ideas.
Each idea as read may trigger other ideas
in other members who write them down
quickly on a second page.
After the first round, the members repeat
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the reading process for the second sheet

and more until no new ideas are triggered.

UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 Idea Trigger Method
Phase III: Compilation
Members compile and classify ideas into a
master list and distribute it.
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UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 2. CONDUCT THE SESSION

1. Specify the objectives make sure that everybody is happy

with the central question.
2. Decide the roles: - leader, recorder, panel.
3. Explain the rules (or make sure that everybody knows them.
Eventually a warm-up exercise for fun). You can let people to
jot down a few ideas before starting.
4. Begin by going around, after some rounds, open the floor.
5. Record the ideas exactly, clarify only in the end.
6. Suspend judgements !
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7. Encourage the ideas, even the most radical and far-fetched.

Allow the late coming ideas, do not hurry.
8. At the end eliminate duplicates, clarify, thank the participants.

UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 3. EVALUATION PHASE

Put the evaluation off / next day

Add newly born ideas to the list

Group similar ideas together

Select the best or most interesting

suggestions
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Create teams which will work on

them further
Inform people about the results

UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 Mistakes to be avoided

people are bad experience

negative in with the method
advance (it will not judgements occur
work anyway) during the session
too many any criticism and
brainstormings in personal attacks
the company
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bad atmosphere
in the beginning

UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 Additional creative
problem-solving methods

INDIVIDUAL BRAINWRITING

COLOURFUL CARDS
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MIND MAPS

UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 INDIVIDUAL BRAINWRITING

When?
- When you need to solve some problem alone, and
you do not have a group to work with
How?
- A piece of paper (can be big and colourful to stimulate
your thinking).
- Jot down all ideas linked with the issue.
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- !! Do not judge yourself !!

- further steps as in brainstorming

UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 COLOURFUL CARDS

When?
- in a group of people, sensitive topic (eg. What do we like / dislike
about our managers, company?)
How?
- a set of papers / person (smaller pieces, A4/3 or 3M), colours as
needed, for example yellow and green
- people individually note their opinions on the cards, one idea
per card, yellow positive, green negative
- glue the cards on the flip chart, grouping immediately similar
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opinions together, negative on the left, positive on the right

- let people see and discuss the result
- brainstorming on What can we do about it? can follow

UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 Afterwards
Work alone to create more ideas.
Meet and selects promising ideas.
Promising ideas are developed in more
detail listing pros and cons.
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UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague
 Idea Selection
Team meets and selects one design to
be engineered.

Team members identify critical sub-

systems and hold brainstorming
sessions on such sub-systems.
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UNIDO - Technology Foresight for Practitioners - Training course, 6-10 October 2003, Prague