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Brainstorming
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Forotheruses,seeBrainstorm(disambiguation).
Brainstormingisagroupcreativitytechniquebywhicheffortsaremadetofindaconclusionforaspecificproblembygatheringalistofideas
spontaneouslycontributedbyitsmembers.ThetermwaspopularizedbyAlexFaickneyOsborninthe1953bookAppliedImagination.ideationsessions.

Contents
1Origin
2Osborn'smethod
2.1Applications
2.2Groups
3Variations
3.1Nominalgrouptechnique
3.2Grouppassingtechnique
3.3Teamideamappingmethod
3.4Directedbrainstorming
3.5Guidedbrainstorming
3.6Individualbrainstorming
3.7Questionbrainstorming
4Computersupported
5Incentives
6Challengestoeffectivegroupbrainstorming
7Seealso
8References
9Externallinks

Origin

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AdvertisingexecutiveAlexF.Osbornbegandevelopingmethodsforcreativeproblemsolvingin1939.Hewasfrustratedbyemployeesinabilityto
developcreativeideasindividuallyforadcampaigns.Inresponse,hebeganhostinggroupthinkingsessionsanddiscoveredasignificantimprovementin
thequalityandquantityofideasproducedbyemployees.Osbornoutlinedthemethodinhis1948book'YourCreativePower'onchapter33,Howto
OrganizeaSquadtoCreateIdeas.[1]

Osborn'smethod
Osbornclaimedthattwoprinciplescontributeto"ideativeefficacy,"thesebeing:
1. Deferjudgment,
2. Reachforquantity.[2]
Followingthesetwoprincipleswerehisfourgeneralrulesofbrainstorming,establishedwithintentionto:
reducesocialinhibitionsamonggroupmembers,
stimulateideageneration
increaseoverallcreativityofthegroup.
1. goforquantity:Thisruleisameansofenhancingdivergentproduction,aimingtofacilitateproblemsolvingthroughthemaximquantitybreeds
quality.Theassumptionisthatthegreaterthenumberofideasgenerated,thebiggerthechanceofproducingaradicalandeffectivesolution.
2. Withholdcriticism:Inbrainstorming,criticismofideasgeneratedshouldbeput'onhold'.Instead,participantsshouldfocusonextendingor
addingtoideas,reservingcriticismforalater'criticalstage'oftheprocess.Bysuspendingjudgment,participantswillfeelfreetogenerateunusual
ideas.
3. Welcomewildideas:Togetagoodandlonglistofideas,wildideasareencouragedtohave.Theycanbegeneratedbylookingfromnew
perspectivesandsuspendingassumptions.Thesenewwaysofthinkingmightgiveyoubettersolutions.
4. Combineandimproveideas:Assuggestedbytheslogan"1+1=3".Itisbelievedtostimulatethebuildingofideasbyaprocessofassociation.[2]

Applications
Osbornnotesthatbrainstormingshouldaddressaspecificquestionheheldthatsessionsaddressingmultiplequestionswereinefficient.
Further,theproblemmustrequirethegenerationofideasratherthanjudgmentheusesexamplessuchasgeneratingpossiblenamesforaproductas
properbrainstormingmaterial,whereasanalyticaljudgmentssuchaswhetherornottomarrydonothaveanyneedforbrainstorming.[2]

Groups
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Osbornenvisionedgroupsofaround12participants,includingbothexpertsandnovices.Participantsareencouragedtoprovidewildandunexpected
answers.Ideasreceivenocriticismordiscussion.Thegroupsimplyprovidesideasthatmightleadtoasolutionandapplynoanalyticaljudgmentasto
thefeasibility.Thejudgmentsarereservedforalaterdate.[2]

Variations
Nominalgrouptechnique
Mainarticle:nominalgrouptechnique
Participantsareaskedtowritetheirideasanonymously.Thenthefacilitatorcollectstheideasandthegroupvotesoneachidea.Thevotecanbeas
simpleasashowofhandsinfavorofagivenidea.Thisprocessiscalleddistillation.
Afterdistillation,thetoprankedideasmaybesentbacktothegrouportosubgroupsforfurtherbrainstorming.Forexample,onegroupmayworkonthe
colorrequiredinaproduct.Anothergroupmayworkonthesize,andsoforth.Eachgroupwillcomebacktothewholegroupforrankingthelisted
ideas.Sometimesideasthatwerepreviouslydroppedmaybebroughtforwardagainoncethegrouphasreevaluatedtheideas.
Itisimportantthatthefacilitatorbetrainedinthisprocessbeforeattemptingtofacilitatethistechnique.Thegroupshouldbeprimedandencouragedto
embracetheprocess.Likeallteamefforts,itmaytakeafewpracticesessionstotraintheteaminthemethodbeforetacklingtheimportantideas.

Grouppassingtechnique
Eachpersoninacirculargroupwritesdownoneidea,andthenpassesthepieceofpapertothenextperson,whoaddssomethoughts.Thiscontinues
untileverybodygetshisorheroriginalpieceofpaperback.Bythistime,itislikelythatthegroupwillhaveextensivelyelaboratedoneachidea.
Thegroupmayalsocreatean"ideabook"andpostadistributionlistorroutingsliptothefrontofthebook.Onthefirstpageisadescriptionofthe
problem.Thefirstpersontoreceivethebooklistshisor
herideasandthenroutesthebooktothenextpersonon
thedistributionlist.Thesecondpersoncanlognewideas
oraddtotheideasofthepreviousperson.Thiscontinues
untilthedistributionlistisexhausted.Afollowup"read
out"meetingisthenheldtodiscusstheideasloggedin
thebook.Thistechniquetakeslonger,butitallows
individualstimetothinkdeeplyabouttheproblem.
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Teamideamappingmethod
Thismethodofbrainstormingworksbythemethodof
association.Itmayimprovecollaborationandincrease
thequantityofideas,andisdesignedsothatallattendees
participateandnoideasarerejected.
Theprocessbeginswithawelldefinedtopic.Each
participantbrainstormsindividually,thenalltheideasare
mergedontoonelargeideamap.Duringthis
consolidationphase,participantsmaydiscoveracommon
understandingoftheissuesastheysharethemeanings
behindtheirideas.Duringthissharing,newideasmay
arisebytheassociation,andtheyareaddedtothemapas
well.Oncealltheideasarecaptured,thegroupcan
prioritizeand/ortakeaction.[3]

Directedbrainstorming
Directedbrainstormingisavariationofelectronic
brainstorming(describedbelow).Itcanbedonemanually
orwithcomputers.Directedbrainstormingworkswhen
thesolutionspace(thatis,thesetofcriteriafor
evaluatingagoodidea)isknownpriortothesession.If
known,thosecriteriacanbeusedtoconstrainthe
Ideationprocessintentionally.

brainstormingactivityconducting

Indirectedbrainstorming,eachparticipantisgivenone
sheetofpaper(orelectronicform)andtoldthebrainstormingquestion.Theyareaskedtoproduceoneresponseandstop,thenallofthepapers(or
forms)arerandomlyswappedamongtheparticipants.Theparticipantsareaskedtolookattheideatheyreceivedandtocreateanewideathatimproves
onthatideabasedontheinitialcriteria.Theformsarethenswappedagainandrespondentsareaskedtoimproveupontheideas,andtheprocessis
repeatedforthreeormorerounds.
Inthelaboratory,directedbrainstorminghasbeenfoundtoalmosttripletheproductivityofgroupsoverelectronicbrainstorming.[4]
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Guidedbrainstorming
Aguidedbrainstormingsessionistimesetasidetobrainstormeitherindividuallyorasacollectivegroupaboutaparticularsubjectundertheconstraints
ofperspectiveandtime.Thistypeofbrainstormingremovesallcauseforconflictandconstrainsconversationswhilestimulatingcriticalandcreative
thinkinginanengaging,balancedenvironment.
Participantsareaskedtoadoptdifferentmindsetsforpredefinedperiodoftimewhilecontributingtheirideastoacentralmindmapdrawnbyapre
appointedscribe.Havingexaminedamultiperspectivepointofview,participantsseeminglyseethesimplesolutionsthatcollectivelycreategreater
growth.Actionisassignedindividually.
Followingaguidedbrainstormingsessionparticipantsemergewithideasrankedforfurtherbrainstorming,researchandquestionsremaining
unansweredandaprioritized,assigned,actionablelistthatleaveseveryonewithaclearunderstandingofwhatneedstohappennextandtheabilityto
visualizethecombinedfuturefocusandgreatergoalsofthegroup.

Individualbrainstorming
"Individualbrainstorming"istheuseofbrainstorminginsolitary.Ittypicallyincludessuchtechniquesasfreewriting,freespeaking,wordassociation,
anddrawingamindmap,whichisavisualnotetakingtechniqueinwhichpeoplediagramtheirthoughts.Individualbrainstormingisausefulmethodin
creativewritingandhasbeenshowntobesuperiortotraditionalgroupbrainstorming.[5][6]

Questionbrainstorming
Thisprocessinvolvesbrainstormingthequestions,ratherthantryingtocomeupwithimmediateanswersandshorttermsolutions.Theoretically,this
techniqueshouldnotinhibitparticipationasthereisnoneedtoprovidesolutions.Theanswerstothequestionsformtheframeworkforconstructing
futureactionplans.Oncethelistofquestionsisset,itmaybenecessarytoprioritizethemtoreachtothebestsolutioninanorderlyway.[7]
"Questorming"isanothertermforthismodeofinquiry.[8]

Computersupported
Seealso:BrainstormingsoftwareandElectronicmeetingsystem
Althoughthebrainstormingcantakeplaceonlinethroughcommonlyavailabletechnologiessuchasemailorinteractivewebsites,therehavealsobeen
manyeffortstodevelopcustomizedcomputersoftwarethatcaneitherreplaceorenhanceoneormoremanualelementsofthebrainstormingprocess.
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Earlyefforts,suchasGroupSystemsatUniversityofArizona[9]orSoftwareAidedMeetingManagement(SAMM)systemattheUniversityof
Minnesota,[10]tookadvantageofthennewcomputernetworkingtechnology,whichwasinstalledinroomsdedicatedtocomputersupportedmeetings.
Whenusingtheseelectronicmeetingsystems(EMS,astheycametobecalled),groupmemberssimultaneouslyandindependentlyenteredideasintoa
computerterminal.Thesoftwarecollected(or"pools")theideasintoalist,whichcouldbedisplayedonacentralprojectionscreen(anonymizedif
desired).OtherelementsoftheseEMSscouldsupportadditionalactivitiessuchascategorizationofideas,eliminationofduplicates,assessmentand
discussionofprioritizedorcontroversialideas.LaterEMSscapitalizedonadvancesincomputernetworkingandinternetprotocolstosupport
asynchronousbrainstormingsessionsoverextendedperiodsoftimeandinmultiplelocations
ProponentssuchasGallupeetal.arguethatelectronicbrainstormingeliminatesmanyoftheproblemsofstandardbrainstorming,includingproduction
blocking(i.e.groupmembersmusttaketurnstoexpresstheirideas)andevaluationapprehension(i.e.fearofbeingjudgedbyothers).Thispositive
effectincreaseswithlargergroups.[11]Aperceivedadvantageofthisformatisthatallideascanbearchivedelectronicallyintheiroriginalform,and
thenretrievedlaterforfurtherthoughtanddiscussion.Electronicbrainstormingalsoenablesmuchlargergroupstobrainstormonatopicthanwould
normallybeproductiveinatraditionalbrainstormingsession.[12]
Computersupportedbrainstormingmayovercomesomeofthechallengesfacedbytraditionalbrainstormingmethods.Forexample,ideasmightbe
"pooled"automatically,sothatindividualsdonotneedtowaittotakeaturn,asinverbalbrainstorming.Somesoftwareprogramsshowallideasasthey
aregenerated(viachatroomoremail).Thedisplayofideasmaycognitivelystimulatebrainstormers,astheirattentioniskeptontheflowofideas
beinggeneratedwithoutthepotentialdistractionofsocialcuessuchasfacialexpressionsandverballanguage.[11]Electronicbrainstormingtechniques
havebeenshowntoproducemoreideasandhelpindividualsfocustheirattentionontheideasofothersbetterthanabrainwritingtechnique(participants
writeindividualwrittennotesinsilenceandthensubsequentlycommunicatethemwiththegroup).[11]Theproductionofmoreideashasbeenlinkedto
thefactthatpayingattentiontoothersideasleadstononredundancy,asbrainstormerstrytoavoidtoreplicateorrepeatanotherparticipantscomment
oridea.
Somewebbasedbrainstormingtechniquesallowcontributorstoposttheircommentsanonymouslythroughtheuseofavatars.Thistechniquealso
allowsuserstologonoveranextendedtimeperiod,typicallyoneortwoweeks,toallowparticipantssome"soaktime"beforepostingtheirideasand
feedback.Thistechniquehasbeenusedparticularlyinthefieldofnewproductdevelopment,butcanbeappliedinanynumberofareasrequiring
collectionandevaluationofideas.
SomelimitationsofEBSincludethefactthatitcanfloodpeoplewithtoomanyideasatonetimethattheyhavetoattendto,andpeoplemayalso
comparetheirperformancetoothersbyanalyzinghowmanyideaseachindividualproduces(socialmatching).

Incentives
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Someresearchindicatesthatincentivescanaugmentcreativeprocesses.Participantsweredividedintothreeconditions.InConditionI,aflatfeewas
paidtoallparticipants.IntheConditionII,participantswereawardedpointsforeveryuniqueideaoftheirown,andsubjectswerepaidforthepoints
thattheyearned.InConditionIII,subjectswerepaidbasedontheimpactthattheirideahadonthegroupthiswasmeasuredbycountingthenumberof
groupideasderivedfromthespecificsubject'sideas.ConditionIIIoutperformedConditionII,andConditionIIoutperformedConditionIata
statisticallysignificantlevelformostmeasures.Theresultsdemonstratedthatparticipantswerewillingtoworkfarlongertoachieveuniqueresultsin
theexpectationofcompensation.[13]

Challengestoeffectivegroupbrainstorming
AgooddealofresearchrefutesOsborn'sclaimthatgroupbrainstormingcouldgeneratemoreideasthanindividualsworkingalone.[6]Forexample,ina
reviewof22studiesofgroupbrainstorming,MichaelDiehlandWolfgangStroebefoundthat,overwhelmingly,groupsbrainstormingtogetherproduce
fewerideasthanindividualsworkingseparately.[14]
Severalfactorscancontributetoalossofeffectivenessingroupbrainstorming.
Blocking:Becauseonlyoneparticipantmaygiveanideaatanyonetime,otherparticipantsmightforgettheideatheyweregoingtocontributeornot
shareitbecausetheyseeitasnolongerimportantorrelevant.[15]Further,ifweviewbrainstormingasacognitiveprocessinwhich"aparticipant
generatesideas(generationprocess)andstorestheminshorttermmemory(memorizationprocess)andtheneventuallyextractssomeofthemfromits
shorttermmemorytoexpressthem(outputprocess)",thenblockingisanevenmorecriticalchallengebecauseitmayalsoinhibitaperson'strainof
thoughtingeneratingtheirownideasandrememberingthem.[16]
Collaborativefixation:Exchangingideasinagroupmayreducethenumberofdomainsthatagroupexploresforadditionalideas.Membersmayalso
conformtheirideastothoseofothermembers,decreasingthenoveltyorvarietyofideas,eventhoughtheoverallnumberofideasmightnot
decrease.[17]
Evaluationapprehension:Evaluationapprehensionwasdeterminedtooccuronlyininstancesofpersonalevaluation.Iftheassumptionofcollective
assessmentwereinplace,realtimejudgmentofideas,ostensiblyaninductionofevaluationapprehension,failedtoinducesignificantvariance.[6]
Freeriding:Individualsmayfeelthattheirideasarelessvaluablewhencombinedwiththeideasofthegroupatlarge.Indeed,DiehlandStroebe
demonstratedthatevenwhenindividualsworkedalone,theyproducedfewerideasiftoldthattheiroutputwouldbejudgedinagroupwithothersthanif
toldthattheiroutputwouldbejudgedindividually.However,experimentationrevealedfreeridingasonlyamarginalcontributortoproductivityloss,
andtypeofsession(i.e.,realvs.nominalgroup)contributedmuchmore.[6]

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Personalitycharacteristics:Extravertshavebeenshowntooutperformintrovertsincomputermediatedgroups.Extravertsalsogeneratedmoreunique
anddiverseideasthanintrovertswhenadditionalmethodswereusedtostimulateideageneration,suchascompletingasmallrelatedtaskbefore
brainstorming,orbeinggivenalistoftheclassicrulesofbrainstorming.[18]
Socialmatching:Onephenomenonofgroupbrainstormingisthatparticipantswilltendtoaltertheirrateofproductivitytomatchothersinthegroup.
Thiscanleadtoparticipantsgeneratingfewerideasinagroupsettingthantheywouldindividuallybecausetheywilldecreasetheirowncontributionsif
theyperceivethemselvestobemoreproductivethanthegroupaverage.Ontheotherhand,thesamephenomenoncanalsoincreaseanindividual'srate
ofproductiontomeetthegroupaverage.[14][19]

Seealso
635Brainwriting
Affinitydiagram
Groupconceptmapping
Eurekaeffect
Lateralthinking
Masscollaboration
Nominalgrouptechnique
Speedthinking
Thinkingoutsidethebox
What?Where?When?

WikimediaCommonshas
mediarelatedto
Brainstorming.

References
1. Lehrer,Jonah."GROUPTHINK".NewYorker.RetrievedOctober2013.
2. Osborn,A.F.(1963)Appliedimagination:Principlesandproceduresofcreativeproblemsolving(ThirdRevisedEdition).NewYork,NY:CharlesScribners
Sons.
3. "WhatisMindMapping?(andHowtoGetStartedImmediately)".Litemind.com.20070807.Retrieved20121124.
4. Santanen,E.,Briggs,R.O.,&deVreede,GJ.(2004).CausalRelationshipsinCreativeProblemSolving:ComparingFacilitationInterventionsforIdeation.
JournalofManagementInformationSystems.20(4),167198.
5. Furnham,A.,&Yazdanpanahi,T.(1995).Personalitydifferencesandgroupversusindividualbrainstorming.PersonalityandIndividualDifferences,19,7380.
6. MichaelDiehlWolfgangStroebe(1991)."ProductivityLossinIdeaGeneratingGroups:TrackingDowntheBlockingEffect".JournalofPersonalityandSocial
Psychology61(3):392403.doi:10.1037/00223514.61.3.392.
7. Ludy,PerryJ.ProfitBuilding:CuttingCostsWithoutCuttingPeople.SanFrancisco:BerretKoehler,Inc,2000.Print.
8. Questorming:AnOutlineoftheMethod(http://pynthan.com/vri/questorm.htm),JonRoland,1985
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9. Nunamaker,JayDennis,AlanValacich,JosephVogel,DougGeorgeJoey(1991)."ElectronicMeetingSystemstoSupportGroupWork".Communicationsof
theACM34(7):4061.doi:10.1145/105783.105793.
10. DeSanctis,GerardinePoole,M.S.Zigurs,I.etal.(2008)."TheMinnesotaGDSSresearchproject:Groupsupportsystems,groupprocesses,andoutcomes".
JournaloftheAssociationforInformationSystems9(10):551608.
11. Michinov,N.(2012).IsElectronicBrainstormingtheBestWaytoImproveCreativePerformanceinGroups?AnOverlookedComparisonofTwoIdeaGeneration
Techniques.JournalofAppliedSocialPsychology,42,E222E243.
12. Gallupe,R.B.,Dennis,A.R.,Cooper,W.H.,Valacich,J.S.,Bastianutti,L.M.andNunamaker,J.F.(1992),"ElectronicBrainstormingandGroupSize,"
AcademyofManagementJournal,Vol.35,No.2,pp.350369.
13. Toubia,Olivier."IdeaGeneration,Creativity,andIncentives"(PDF).MarketingScience.Retrieved28April2011.
14. MichaelDiehlWolfgangStroebe(1987)."ProductivityLossinBrainstormingGroups:TowardtheSolutionofaRiddle".JournalofPersonalityandSocial
Psychology53(3):497509.doi:10.1037/00223514.53.3.497.
15. Lamm,HelmutTrommsdorff,Gisela(1973)."Groupversusindividualperformanceontasksrequiringideationalproficiency(brainstorming):Areview".
EuropeanJournalofSocialPsychology3(4):361388.doi:10.1002/ejsp.2420030402.
16. Haddou,H.A.G.CamilleriP.Zarate(2014)."Predicationofideasnumberduringabrainstormingsession".GroupDecisionandNegotiation23(2):285.
doi:10.1007/s1072601293128.
17. Kohn,NicholasSmith,StevenM.(2011)."Collaborativefixation:Effectsofothers'ideasonbrainstorming".AppliedCognitivePsychology25(3):359371.
doi:10.1002/acp.1699.
18. Henningsen,DavidDrydenHenningsen,MaryLynnMiller(2013)."GeneratingIdeasAbouttheUsesofBrainstorming:ReconsideringtheLossesandGainsof
BrainstormingGroupsRelativetoNominalGroups".SouthernCommunicationJournal78(1):4255.doi:10.1080/1041794X.2012.717684.
19. Brown,V.Paulus,P.B.(1996)."Asimpledynamicmodelofsocialfactorsingroupbrainstorming".SmallGroupResearch27:91114.
doi:10.1177/1046496496271005.

Externallinks
BrainstormingApproach(UniversityofNorthCarolina)(http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/brainstorming.html)
BrainstormEveryDay(Website)(http://www.brainstormeveryday.com/)
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brainstorming&oldid=685596588"
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