Purpose:
Brainstorming is an excellent way to foster creative thinking about a problem. The aim of brainstorming is to produce numerous new ideas, and to derive from them the themes for further analysis.
Business Analysis Body of Knowledge® (BABOK®)
In the 19th century, a brainstorm was a sudden neurological or mental disturbance. Then in 1940s, the founder and the CEO of Marketing firm BBDO called Alex Osborn, developed a system for generating new ideas and he called it as brainstorming. He called brainstorming as “think-up” to develop creative ideas for a problem. He wrote a book about brainstorming and he described the method as “use the brain to storm a creative problem”. IDEO, the world’s leading innovation consulting uses the brainstorming method as “design thinking” to foster their corporate culture. It is one of the most widely used method for creation and innovation of new ideas.
It is group creativity technique by which efforts are made to find a solution for a specific problem by gathering a list of ideas contributed by its group members. People are able to think more freely and they can suggest as many new ideas as possible. The process of brainstorming generates many questions within the group, rather than trying to come up with immediate answers and short term solutions. The different ideas generated within the group are noted down without the criticism and after the brainstorming session the ideas are evaluated one by one. It is a great technique that business professionals can use to generate new and unique ideas for their businesses.
Some of the articles related to Brainstorming techniques are as follows,
- Brainstorming: A Review of Researches - http://www.srjis.com/pages/pdfFiles/14924130598.%20Hans%20Raj.pdf
- The Effect of using Brainstorming Technique - https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1083780.pdf
- The Effect of Idea Generation Technique - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17510694.2018.1523662
- Better Brainstorming - https://hbr.org/2018/03/better-brainstorming
- Brainstorm Rules - https://public-media.interaction-design.org/pdf/Brainstorm.pdf
- The Journey of Brainstorming - https://www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/jti/vol2iss1/Besant_JTISU16A.pdf
- Brainstorming - http://home.snu.edu/~jsmith/library/body/v26.pdf
- Rules, Techniques, and Scope of Ideas - https://www.ionos.com/startupguide/productivity/brainstorming/
- Brainstorming Techniques - https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2019/01/03/brainstorming-techniques
- Brainstorming Performance Measures - https://davidparmenter.com/files/brainstormingperformancemeasuresarticle.pdf
- Brainstorming Workshops - https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2019/03/conducting-brainstorming-workshops/
- Brainstorming and Free Writing - https://www.naropa.edu/documents/programs/jks/naropa-writing-center/brainstorming-and-freewriting.pdf
- Brainstorming Techniques - https://www.careinnovations.org/wp-content/uploads/Brainstorming-Techniques_Final-Slides.pdf
- Project Management in Brainstorming - https://www.projectmanagement.com/wikis/233029/Brainstorming
- Brainstorming Optimization Algorithm - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10462-016-9471-0
- Brainstorming Principles and Rules - http://www.brainstorming.co.uk/documents/brainstormingrules.pdf
- Three Methods for Innovative Thinking - https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/three-ideation-methods-to-enhance-your-innovative-thinking
- Visual Mapping to Enhance Critical Thinking Skills - https://journal.opted.org/articles/Volume_36_Number_3_VisualMapping.pdf
- Brainstorming: Mind Map - http://b701d59276e9340c5b4d-ba88e5c92710a8d62fc2e3a3b5f53bbb.r7.cf2.rackcdn.com/docs/Mind%20Mapping%20Evidence%20Report.pdf
- Management Strategies - http://www.distributiongroup.com/articles/DCM0706_article.pdf
The brainstorming template are used to generate many new ideas and collaborate it to get a unique solution for a problem. Brainstorming template will help us to provide a flow and structure of ideas. It will help the organizer and the group members to start the brainstorming session. It also provides the consistency throughout the brainstorming process. The template used in brainstorming are flexible regardless of the problem.
Some of the tools used in the industry for brainstorming are,
- IdeaBoardz
- Google Documents
- Real time Board
- us
- Freeplane
- Mind Map
- Popplet
- The Brain
- Coggle
- Mind Meister
- Wise Mapping
- Ideament
- Mind Genius
- Simple Mind
Some of the books and magazines for brainstorming techniques,
- Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain | Daniel j. Siegel | https://www.amazon.com/Brainstorm-Power-Purpose-Teenage-Brain/dp/B00H7JJP26/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=brainstorming+books&qid=1589524684&sr=8-1
- The Smart Solution Book | David Cotton | https://www.amazon.com/Smart-Solution-Book-Brainstorming-Decision-ebook/dp/B01MQ48Y4Y/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=brainstorming+books&qid=1589524926&sr=8-5
- Thinkertoys: A Handbook for Creative Thinking Techniques | Michael Michalko |https://www.amazon.com/Thinkertoys-Creative-Thinking-Techniques-Michael-Michalko-ebook/dp/B004CFAWU2/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=brainstorming+books&qid=1589524926&sr=8-7
- Brainstorming: Generate Ideas and Solution Proposals | Oliver Roderich | https://www.amazon.com/Brainstorming-Generate-Solution-Proposals-brainstorm-ebook/dp/B088182SLL/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=brainstorming+books&qid=1589524926&sr=8-8
- Logo Design Love: A Guide to Creating Iconic Brand Identities | David Airey | https://www.amazon.com/Logo-Design-Love-creating-identities-ebook/dp/B00MTUNHDG/ref=sr_1_12?dchild=1&keywords=brainstorming+books&qid=1589524926&sr=8-12
- Visual Thesaurus: A Quick Flip Brainstorming Tool for Graphic Designers | Hatmaker | https://www.amazon.com/Visual-Thesaurus-Brainstorming-Graphic-Designers/dp/1564968944/ref=sr_1_13?dchild=1&keywords=brainstorming+books&qid=1589524926&sr=8-13
- Creative Block: Discover New Ideas | Danielle Krysa | https://www.amazon.com/Creative-Block-Discover-Projects-Successful-ebook/dp/B00GOJT5F2/ref=sr_1_15?dchild=1&keywords=brainstorming+books&qid=1589524926&sr=8-15
- Sprint: How to Solve the Big Problems and Test New Ideas | Jake Knapp | https://www.amazon.com/Sprint-Solve-Problems-Test-Ideas-ebook/dp/B010MH1DAQ/ref=sr_1_17?dchild=1&keywords=brainstorming+books&qid=1589525568&sr=8-17
- Ultimate Brainstorming: A Toolbox for Brainstorms | Arthur Kaptein | https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Brainstorming-Toolbox-Brainstormers-Facilitators-ebook/dp/B00RQQINVO/ref=sr_1_40?dchild=1&keywords=brainstorming+books&qid=1589525744&sr=8-40
- Power Brainstorming: Great Ideas at Lightning Speed | Hazel Wagner | https://www.amazon.com/Power-Brainstorming-Lightning-Brainiance-Business-ebook/dp/B002C759F0/ref=sr_1_41?dchild=1&keywords=brainstorming+books&qid=1589525744&sr=8-41
- Team Oriented Problem Solving | Marc Possley | https://www.amazon.com/Team-Oriented-Problem-Solving-Part/dp/1493542184/ref=sr_1_45?dchild=1&keywords=brainstorming+books&qid=1589525744&sr=8-45
- The Writer’s Brainstorming Kit: Thinking in New Direction | Pam McCutcheon | https://www.amazon.com/Writers-Brainstorming-Kit-Thinking-Directions-ebook/dp/B01J93ZQ4S/ref=sr_1_59?dchild=1&keywords=brainstorming+books&qid=1589526037&sr=8-59
- The Art of Innovation | Tom Kelley | https://www.amazon.com/The-Art-of-Innovation-audiobook/dp/B01B89J6OM/ref=sr_1_111?dchild=1&keywords=brainstorming+books&qid=1589526476&sr=8-111
- The Perfect Brainstorm | Lonnie Pacelli | https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Brainstorm-Brainstorming-Sessions-Leadership-ebook/dp/B003O85TA6/ref=sr_1_113?dchild=1&keywords=brainstorming+books&qid=1589526573&sr=8-113
- Brainstorming: The Dynamic Way to Creative Ideas | Charles H. Clark | https://www.amazon.com/Brainstorming-Dynamic-Way-Creative-Ideas/dp/B00B008ISA/ref=sr_1_199?dchild=1&keywords=brainstorming+books&qid=1589526842&sr=8-199