Planning for Planning for Innovative Innovative Products:Products:

Brainstorming Brainstorming TechniquesTechniques

Planning for Planning for Innovative Innovative Products:Products:

Brainstorming Brainstorming TechniquesTechniques

Dr. Loris G. Gregoris P. Eng. Dr. Loris G. Gregoris P. Eng.

ECE 496 Lecture September, 2003ECE 496 Lecture September, 2003(c) L.G. Gregoris (c) L.G. Gregoris

To successfully compete organizations will need to:

• Increase the number and quality of their innovations

• Select the most competitive innovations from the pool of generated options

Creativity is ...

• A state of doing, not being

• If you want to be creative you need to do creative things

Brainstorm - What is it?

• A sudden inspiration, idea, or plan.

(Webster)

How to Brainstorm

• Basic outline is provided on how to Brainstorm.

• Followed by pitfalls and boundaries that should be set prior to the session(s).

The creative process has two fundamental stages:

Divergence, or generating ideas &Convergence, or evaluating ideas.

The Creative Process:

• Creativity flourishes when divergent thinking is separated from convergent thinking.

Tools for Generating Lots of Ideas

• Use the divergent rules to create and capture these ideas:Brainstorming– Goals in Idea Capture (part I)

– Create as many ideas as possible– Get input from as many “good minds” as

possible

– Goals in Idea Analysis (part II)– “Select” right ideas– Analyze ideas

Step 1: Defining the problem

• What is the paradigm that you are working with??

• What you think is the problem, is probably not the problem.

• Generate lots of problem statements - don’t try to solve the problem right away, rather try to solve the right problem.

• This step is probably the most important: – if this is done poorly all the work following this is irrelevant.

Step 1: Defining the problem

•Why bother with this tedious step it’s more fun to Brainstorm?– Ideas are essential, for the creation of

innovative products– BUT….. do make sure you are generating

the ideas for the right problem.

Step 2: PlanningThe basic questions you should consider before doing a

brainstorming session:• Who should I invite to participate ?

• When should I hold the meeting?

• Where should I hold the brainstorming session ?

• Why should I use Brainstorming?And

• What should I brainstorm?

Following answering those questions you must consider:

• How should I do the Brainstorming session?

Step 2: Planning: Who should I invite to participate ?

• My best friends?

• The guys that I know agree with me?

• Others ? How many ?

Inviting the WHICH Right People?

• Who are the “wrong people”??• Nay Sayers• Short term problem solvers vs longer

term problem solvers• People with an “agenda”• Your best friends

• How big is the team?• I have found from practical experience that

depending on the problem a team of 4 to 10 with a max of 12 people is good. For a small to medium problem no more than 5 well chosen people is “optimal”.

In identifying the right people for Brainstorming consider including whom??:

– Users of the product

– Customers/sponsors

– Potential Team participants

– Open and creative individuals

– Subject Matter Experts, Generalists

Step 2: Why it is critically important to involve the users??:

The Railway Paradox Problem Statement:• “When railroads are asked to establish new

stops on the schedule, they “study the requirements”, by sending someone to the (requested stop) at the designated time to see if someone is waiting for the train.

• Of course, nobody is there because no stop is scheduled, so the railroad turns down the request because there is no demand.”

Reference: M Weinberg, Rethinking Systems Analysis & Design (NY: Dorset House Publishing, 1988) pp 56-59:

Step 2: Conclusion:

Decision makers must talk to the ultimate users of the product to establish the true need for the product or the improvement.

Step 2: Planning: Why should I use Brainstorming??

Brainstorming is used to examine all the options available needed to solve the defined problem•It is used to help ensure that you

are solving the problem in the best manner possible.

Step 2: Planning: When should I hold the meeting?

• Select a time that is not in time conflict with other activities

• Hold the Session only after the Problem has been defined

• Chose a time and duration that can accommodate the Participants

– Participants should not be under time pressure in doing a brainstorm

• Do not allow interruptions – People leaving the meeting to do something

“urgent”– No phone interruptions

Step 2: Planning: Host Duties

• As the Host for the Brainstorm Session it is your job to create a relaxed unpressured environment that brings out the creativity in the participants you selected.

• If the team isn’t laughing and joking then there is something wrong!

Step 2: Planning: Where should I hold the brainstorming session?

• Preferably chose a location that isolates the participants from the day-to-day interruptions

• Chose a relaxed, quiet environment

Step 2: Planning:What should I brainstorm?

• A clear and written definition of the real problem.

• Set criteria and their importance

Step 3:Conducting Brainstorming

Session

• Techniques to Improve Quality of Brainstorming Session Output

Basic Rules in How to Conduct a Brainstorming Session• Make sure the team understands and agrees

to the problem at hand.• Select a discussion Leader (Facilitator)• Select a “scribe” whose job is to write

without censorship ideas given by participants.

• Lay down the rules of “divergent” thinking.– No criticism, no negative reactions, etc (see

below)– No Analysis of the ideas – Be patient with silence– Allow mutation and growth of ideas

Basic Rules in How to Conduct a Brainstorming Session

– How do you know you are doing the right thing? Here’s a summarycheck list.

– No criticism or debate of ideas– Let the imagination soar…the wilder the idea the

better– Need for a “safe” uncritical and friendly meeting– Be patient with silence– Test: “if no one is laughing, it is not a good session– Go for quantity (but don’t go “hog wild either)– Mutate and combine ideas (build not destroy)– Do your brainstorming in a manner suitable for you

and your team but observe the basic rules! – Only Later Concentrate ideas to manageable number

using methods

Hints on Open your mind to new ideas

• When you always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you always got. - Socrates

• How else can I do this?

• What If?

• How can I use something that doesn’t fit with this at all?

• “Careful, cautious people, always casting about to preserve their reputations, can never effect a reform.” - Susan B. Anthony

Praise First• Responses to ideas that positively promote the

creative environment.• Discuss the new idea in terms of:

– Pluses• what are the positives, the likes, the

advantages of the new idea.– Potentials

• future positives “It might …”– Concerns - limitations posed as questions

• “How to …”• “How might …”• “In what ways might … “

– Overcome concerns - one at a time.

What if you get stuck? What should I do??

• Forced Connections– When your mind goes blank try selecting an

unrelated word, object or picture and ask, “When you look at this ____, what ideas do you get for

how to solve the problem”

• Scamper – Ask yourself, what might you substitute, combine,

adapt, magnify/minimize, put to other uses, eliminate, or reverse.

• Gap Analysis– How many gaps can you fill/eliminate/simplify?

What if you get stuck?Ideas from Other Categories

– Lots of great ideas can be borrowed from problem categories other than the one you are working on.

Analyze the negative option– Humans tend to be more negative than

positive in analyzing a problem– Rephrase Problem as the opposite or

negative of the current problem. – Analyze that problem by “normal

Brainstorming Rules”– Reverse the conclusions and apply them to

the original problem.

Step 4:Analyzing Results of

Brainstorming Session

• Use Convergent thinking• Synthesis part of idea creation

Purpose: – To reduce the number of” Diamonds in the

Rough” ideas to a workable number

Basic Rules in How to Conduct a Brainstorming Session

• Once idea generation is exhausted, prioritize or “weed” ideas using “convergent” thinking

– Only positive constructive comments given.

– Build on or combine similar ideas– But still do not critique ideas

• Be affirmative – Review the ideas to find the ones you

like, not the ones you don’t like.

• Be deliberate – Systematically review all of the ideas.

• Check your objective– Don’t lose sight of your original goal.

To sift out the really innovative and practical ideas:

• Improve your ideas – Do you see ways to make your ideas

better?

• Consider novelty – Avoid the “ tried and true” and

stretch your comfort level

Analyzing Results of Brainstorming Session: Making the “final list”. Methods used:

Voting with a threshold All participants are given 5 votes (say) – Participant can vote any way they want for the

posted ideas– Idea with most votes from group gets included– This cycle could be repeated with a second

thresholding vote

Voting with campaign speeches – Give (say) 3 votes per person. Tally all votes. – Ideas with 1 or more votes get considered. – Select a person who did not vote for the idea to

“promote” the idea (positively)– Repeat voting after the speeches

Ref: D.C Gause & G.M Weinber: Exploring Requirements: Quality before Design

Blending ideas– Unify similar ideas– Danger: all ideas could get force fitted into

1 idea

Apply criteria– Have a criteria of merit prepared prior to

meeting– Eliminate ideas that do not meet criteria

Scoring or ranking methods– Use a weighting formula

• Assign points for each criterion met Ref: D.C Gause & G.M Weinber: Exploring Requirements: Quality before Design

Creativity Promoting Environment

– Freedom•To approach the work or problem in

one’s own way.– Challenging Work

•The individual’s skills are challenged.

– Sufficient Resources •Access to data or the ability to

create it.•Sufficient time to do the work

– Supervisory Encouragement of Creativity•Acceptance of “dumb ideas”•Acceptance of mistakes

– Supportive Work Group•Peer support and acceptance•Culture of acceptance of new ideas

– Organizational Encouragement of Creativity

Factors that shape climate:Obstacles to Creativity

Organizational Impediments• Structure of organization• Not allowed to make a mistake…must always

“look good”• Idea stealing by superiors or peers• Business Culture

– “Bottom line” is all important» Quarterly Financial Report must look good

– Short term focus vs long term view– Risk aversion– Politics of organization

• Workload Pressures (individual, team, organization)

– “We don’t have time for that”.– But some how we all have lot’s of time to do the

work over and over again !!!

Make Mistakes

• It is OK to make mistakes.

• A mistake is an unexpected result

• Learn from that experience!!!

• It took Edison 3,000 tries to invent the light bulb. When someone asked about progress after the first 1,000 tries, his response was “Well, we know 1,000 ways not to do it.”

Comments or Questions?

Right Brain Methods

• Right side of brain: visual, graphical• Left side of brain: verbal, analytical• All ideas so far are largely “left brain

ideas”• Techniques:

– Use mapping tools: sketches, drawings, maps, cartoons, etc.

Ref: D.C Gause & G.M Weinber: Exploring Requirements: Quality before Design pg 123

Wiggle Chart

• Can be considered to be a functional flow chart, but….– Incomplete or uncertain elements are

sketched with “wiggly lines”

Ref: D.C Gause & G.M Weinber: Exploring Requirements: Quality before Design

Wiggle Chart:

Sensor Data

Sensor Pre-processing

Image Analysis

Decision Planning

Take Action

Braindrawing

– Use pictures sketches etc to capture ideas

– Does not use “words” in description

Ref: D.C Gause & G.M Weinber: Exploring Requirements: Quality before Design

Right Braining

• Use of drawing to “spur right-brain artistic ideas”

• Establish the important attributes of what you want to design visually or graphically

• Sketch (quickly) each attribute• Then, pair randomly the various individual

pictorial attributes• Continue until all attributes are included.

Ref: D.C Gause & G.M Weinber: Exploring Requirements: Quality before Design

Brainwriting

– On a piece of paper, make a table that is a few rows deep by a few columns wide.

– The first person fills in the top row with one idea per box.

– The page is passed to the next person who fills in the next row with ideas (either create new ideas or build off of the other ideas on the page).

– The process is repeated until everyone in the group has contributed and the page is full.

Delphi Method 1

• Process 2:– Questionnaire is distributed to the members. – Each member jots down as many ideas as

possible– All items are collected and redistributed by the

coordinator to the participants. – They again add to the ideas or modify by

variation. – This continues until a stable set of ideas result.

• Problem– very expensive, time consuming and

tainted by peer influence(1) Rand Corp late 1960’s(2) P H Francis: Principles of R&D Management pg 169

References• Elaine Dundon & Alex Pattakos, The Innovation

Group Consulting Inc., www.innovationguru.com• Blair Miller, Blair Miller Associates,

www.blairmiller.com • Roger Martin & Hilary Austen, Rotman School of

Management, Innovation vs. Implementation, Rotman Management, Spring/Summer 2002, www.mgmt.utoronto.ca

• David Potter, Innovation Council, Conference Board of Canada, 2003

References• D. C. Gause & G. M. Weinberg, Exploring

Requirements: Quality before Design. Dorset House Publishing NY, 1989. ISBN 0-9326633-13-7

• P.H.Francis, Principles of R&D Amacom a Division of American Management Associations 1977. ISBN 0-8144-5451-8