Brainstorming
A technique in which several people freely put forward ideas and diverge and converge on solutions, a classic creativity technique proposed by Osborn in 1953.
Brainstorming (often shortened to “brainstorm”) is a technique in which several people freely put forward ideas and diverge and converge on solutions. It is a classic creativity technique proposed by Alex Osborn in 1953 and is widely used in planning and problem solving. However, later psychological research revealed that traditional brainstorming has structural weaknesses, and improved versions such as Brainwriting and the Nominal Group Technique came to be recommended.
The 4 rules of brainstorming (proposed by Osborn)
The structural flaws of traditional brainstorming
Improved techniques
| Technique | Features | Best suited for |
|---|---|---|
| Brainwriting (6-3-5) | Write instead of speaking. Highly anonymous | When you want to maximize the number of ideas |
| Nominal Group Technique | Individual work → everyone presents → discussion | Combining deep discussion with divergence |
| Crazy 8s | Sketch 8 ideas in 8 minutes | Design work, visual ideation |
| Worst Possible Idea | Work backward from the worst idea | A breakthrough when ideas get stuck |
The optimal session size
Guidelines commonly used in practice
- Participants: 4-7 people (Brainwriting is a must for 8 or more)
- Session length: 45-90 minutes (concentration drops beyond that)
- Icebreaker: 5 minutes or less
- Divergent phase: 30-50 minutes
- Convergence / voting phase: 10-20 minutes
The importance of advance preparation
Advance preparation decides 80% of a brainstorm’s results. Write the “question” down in one sentence and tell participants at least 24 hours ahead so they have time to think on their own. As covered in detail in How to run brainstorming, it is efficient to spend the time on the day only on sparking and combining ideas.
A common misunderstanding
The idea that “the more freely people talk in a brainstorm, the better” is close to the result of “no criticism,” just one of Osborn’s 4 rules, taking on a life of its own. Even if criticism is banned, waiting your turn to speak (Production Blocking) and anxiety about being judged remain. The improved techniques evolved toward “writing” and “putting individual work first” in order to eliminate these two remaining problems. The more a team tends to be dominated by people with strong voices, the greater the effect of switching to a writing-based technique like Brainwriting.