A method for generating ideas, intended to inspire the free-flowing sharing of thoughts of an individual or a group of people, typically while withholding criticism in order to promote uninhibited thinking.
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.
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
Related Links
Originators/Popularizers
Osborn, A. F. (1963). Applied imagination: Principles and procedures of creative problem-solving (Third Revised Edition). New York, NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons.
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). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Published Studies
Milliken, F. J., & Martins, L. (1996). Searching for common threads: Understanding the multiple effects of diversity in organizational groups. Academy of Management Review, 21, 402-433.
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. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 32-62.
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 Topics
Metaphor Brainstorming : A method for generating metaphors and extracting aspects of those metaphors that can be applied to the design of hardware, software, processes, and services.
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.
Detailed description
How To
Special Considerations
Facts
Also called:
Creative Thinking, Thought Showers, Lateral Thinking.
Sources and contributors:
Chauncey Wilson, Carla Saraiva.