Workshops - Brainstorming

When your team gets an assignment to prepare ideas for solving a problem, the logical solution seems to be to brainstorm. But does this approach really work?

Although the term "brainstorming" is now used to describe the activity of generating ideas by a group, it was originally the name of a specific technique proposed in the 1950s by Alex Osborn, director of the advertising industry. Osborn codified the basic principles that many people use today for joint idea generation sessions: propose as many of them as possible; don't worry if they're too crazy; develop your proposals; stop criticizing at first.

Participants give ideas for solving the problem. The session can last from 5 to 25 minutes, depending on the number of participants and the difficulty of the problem raised. Usually, the end of this stage is marked by a clear decrease in the number of ideas submitted. The session may also end if the leader decides that the collected material is sufficient to solve the problem.