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Brainstorming

Brainstorming. TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT. Brainstorming. What is ‘Brainstorming’?. It is a technique which encourages creative thinking and the generation of ideas. It is used to: Generate a list of problems and opportunities Generate possible solutions Develop Action Plans

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Brainstorming

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  1. Brainstorming TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT Brainstorming

  2. What is ‘Brainstorming’? • It is a technique which encourages creative thinking and the generation of ideas. It is used to: • Generate a list of problems and opportunities • Generate possible solutions • Develop Action Plans • Enhance other techniques such as F.M.E.A.s

  3. What can Brainstorming Do? • Providing that the rules and principles are carefully followed, brainstorming should achieve the following results: • Produce a lot of ideas in a short time • Enable team members to contribute individually and to benefit from ideas generated by others

  4. What Else Can Brainstorming Do? • Helps to create an environment which enhances group activity or teamwork • Provides a more positive environment in which to approach problem solving • Encourages deeper thinking about particular problems

  5. Thinking • Most people have well developed logical thinking skills. • As a result most people use logical thinking when trying to solve a problem which in most cases is appropriate. • Some situations require the generation of new and different ideas. • In these situations, creative or lateral thinking may be required.

  6. Logical & Lateral Thinking • Both logical & lateral thinking skills are needed in analytical problem solving. • Lateral thinking is used to generate alternatives. • Logical thinking is used to evaluate them.

  7. Barriers to Lateral Thinking • There are many barriers to lateral thinking which people need to overcome: • Tramline thinking – people limit their thoughts to what has been done before and do not stray outside the boundaries of the situation. • People also assume what is or isn’t possible – ‘we’ve always done it that way’’!

  8. Barriers to Lateral Thinking • The fear of sounding foolish – this limits the scope of peoples thoughts to what is seen as safe or acceptable. This prevents raising of radical ideas which could be useful. • Ideas can be judged too early without proper consideration. As a result they are discarded for being impractical or impossible.

  9. Remember… THERE MAY BE MORE THAN ONE RIGHT ANSWER TO A SITUATION!

  10. 1. Build a Team • Once a problem has been bought to our attention, a team must be formed to tackle the problem. • Ideally, this will be a team of people with a variety of skills and knowledge relating to the problem.

  11. 2. Introduce the Problem • Explain the purpose of the brainstorming session • There is no rank structure – everyone is equal • Address the objectives by asking questions: • What are the ways of…………? • How could we……………?

  12. 3. Make Sure Everyone Understands • Ensure everyone understands the following points: • No criticism of any idea, however radical • Record all ideas – flipcharts are ideal • Aim for a large number of ideas • Keep going until all members have exhausted their ideas • Build on ideas

  13. 4. Start the Thought Process • The reasoning behind brainstorming is for people to generate both logical & lateral ideas. Ways of going about this include: • A free-for-all where people call out ideas; • Going round in turn, collecting new ideas; • Ideas are written down & passed to a scribe; • Any combination of the above.

  14. 5. Reflect on the Ideas • Take time to reflect on the list of ideas • New ideas may be forthcoming as a result • More than one meeting may be necessary – keep the ideas fresh.

  15. 6. Evaluate the Ideas • Trying to deal with a list of ideas is not easy. Evaluation can be done in a number of ways: • Plus, minus & interesting technique allocates a ‘+’ to the most promising, ‘-’ to the least promising & ‘interesting’ rating to those in-between. • Rank ideas 1 to 10, higher the number, the more promising the idea. • Do not discard any ideas – even at this stage.

  16. 7. Summary • It is important that the brainstorming session is seen in context and that members recognise the importance of their input and involvement. • An explanation of the group’s future role should be given and reinforced by identifying follow-up dates and mapping out future progress.

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