CREATIVE SESSION 1: BRAINSTORMING

Brainstorming: Diverge to Make Better Choices

Brainstorming is not simply about producing ideas in rapid succession. It is a structured process that alternates between two complementary phases: judgment-free divergence, which opens up possibilities, and convergence, which groups, selects, and develops the most promising ideas.

An effective session begins with a clear, user-focused challenge framed as an open question: “How might we…?” The group then quickly generates a large number of ideas without criticism. Next comes enrichment: participants combine, adapt, and develop proposals using constraints, analogies, and provocations. Finally, they organize ideas into themes, vote according to explicit criteria, and select those to prototype.

The quality of the group matters as much as the method. Ideally, it brings together five to eight people with complementary profiles, supported by a neutral facilitator. A few simple rules help create a productive environment: listen without interrupting, respect every contribution, share speaking time fairly, and build on other people’s ideas rather than defend personal territory.

Several techniques encourage divergence:

• Crazy 8s challenges participants to produce eight ideas in eight minutes, while brainwriting supports silent, parallel expression.

• SCAMPER helps transform an existing idea, while mind maps, analogies, and reverse brainstorming offer new perspectives. Reverse brainstorming involves imagining how to guarantee failure and then turning each cause into a positive principle or testable solution.

  
  

A complete workshop can fit into 60 minutes:

5 minutes to frame the challenge, 20 to diverge, 15 to share, and 20 to converge. The goal is not to find the perfect answer immediately, but to identify two or three strong ideas that everyone understands and that are concrete enough to move quickly into prototyping.

Fabien Manuel

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