- Quickly generate lots of ideas, to help get an overview of the conceptual landscape. These are not necessarily new ideas (or good ideas). They may have been brewing for a while as individuals considered the problem beforehand. These ideas can become the seeds for solutions, to be investigated with prototypes.
- Gather a team into a physical space where everyone can share perspectives on the problem and become aware of the potential solution spaces as they are surfaced. Done well, it can energize a team (and done poorly, it can deflate one).
- Get clients or stakeholders to buy into the design process, and also learn what is important to these decision makers.
Design Thinking Handbook, Eli Woolery.
Setting up for a good brainstorm
- Get into the right headspace
- Limit the time
- Keep the momentum going and stay on topic
- Always say yes.
- When an idea is put forward, participants should be encouraged to build on it and add to the idea.
- Be visual and headline. Use white white boards, large sticky notes or paper and pin ideas to a wall.
- Narrow down the ideas and then move on to prototyping the selected ideas.