Structured Brainstorming
What:
Gather insights from stakeholders, consider a range of options, and then focus your team on the best solution.
Who:
A brainstorming process should involve everyone who has an interest in the problem, including those who will be involved in the implementation and anyone affected by it.
Where:
These rapid discussions can take place in-person or on a video-conferencing platform. Distributed teams frequently use shared documents to brainstorm asynchronously.
What: Gather insights from stakeholders, consider a range of options, and then focus your team on the best solution.
Who: A brainstorming process should involve everyone who has an interest in the problem, including those who will be involved in the implementation and anyone affected by it.
Where: These rapid discussions can take place in-person or on a video-conferencing platform. Distributed teams frequently use shared documents to brainstorm asynchronously.
Best Practices:
Best Practices:
Align your team to a common goal.
![](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f46d1d4db469a4b6dfa3924/6424afe83645b4f49d4b603a_Check-Fill.png)
Establish a clear sense of the problem to be solved, centered around a single topic or metric.
![](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f46d1d4db469a4b6dfa3924/6424afe83645b4f49d4b603a_Check-Fill.png)
Avoid conflicting objectives that slow your progress and reduce your ability to produce quality ideas.
![](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f46d1d4db469a4b6dfa3924/6424afe83645b4f49d4b603a_Check-Fill.png)
Capture ideas in a document or on a canvas so they don't get lost.
![](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f46d1d4db469a4b6dfa3924/6424afe83645b4f49d4b603a_Check-Fill.png)
Example: Use a premortem exercise to define a goal, identify potential pitfalls, and create a mitigation plan to avoid them.
Share a short list of open-ended questions.
![](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f46d1d4db469a4b6dfa3924/6424afe83645b4f49d4b603a_Check-Fill.png)
Give the group ten minutes to generate responses to these questions.
![](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f46d1d4db469a4b6dfa3924/6424afe83645b4f49d4b603a_Check-Fill.png)
Encourage them to aim for quantity and to avoid filtering their responses.
![](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f46d1d4db469a4b6dfa3924/6424afe83645b4f49d4b603a_Check-Fill.png)
Example: Use "how might we?" questions to frame the challenge you're trying to solve in a way that will help you spark new ideas.
Review the result.
![](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f46d1d4db469a4b6dfa3924/6424afe83645b4f49d4b603a_Check-Fill.png)
Give everyone on your team the opportunity to speak up and be heard.
![](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f46d1d4db469a4b6dfa3924/6424afe83645b4f49d4b603a_Check-Fill.png)
Invite disagreement during the discussion to see where opinions diverge.
![](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f46d1d4db469a4b6dfa3924/6424afe83645b4f49d4b603a_Check-Fill.png)
Example: Use a structured agenda for your review session to ensure you ask the right questions and gather enough feedback.
Create constraints.
![](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f46d1d4db469a4b6dfa3924/6424afe83645b4f49d4b603a_Check-Fill.png)
Don’t devote more than two or three days to brainstorming.
![](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f46d1d4db469a4b6dfa3924/6424afe83645b4f49d4b603a_Check-Fill.png)
Generate new ideas quickly: avoid getting bogged down in endless conversations that prevent you from moving forward.
![](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f46d1d4db469a4b6dfa3924/6424afe83645b4f49d4b603a_Check-Fill.png)
Example: Use guided questions to train your team to think rigorously and systematically without getting stuck.
Success is:
You know you've completed a successful brainstorming process when you’ve included a diverse range of stakeholders, considered a wide range of possible solutions, and winnowed the list down to one best option.
Templates:
Making it happen:
Here's how Almanac helps you brainstorm ideas more effectively.
Success is: You know you've completed a successful brainstorming process when you’ve included a diverse range of stakeholders, considered a wide range of possible solutions, and winnowed the list down to one best option.
Making it happen: Here's how Almanac helps you brainstorm ideas more effectively.
Real-time Collaboration
Collaborate with confidence knowing you will always have the latest changes from your team.
![Real time collaboration on docs](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f46d1d4db469a4b6dfa3924/6450381bc8ee4fd559e00524_Frame%208471.png)
Voting
Streamline feedback and brainstorming with in-document voting. No more "+1s" needed.
![Voting widget in documents](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f46d1d4db469a4b6dfa3924/64503829044eaf2b0988ed6f_Frame%2084712.png)
Timer
Keep your brainstorming sessions, standups, retros, and team meetings on track with our in-doc timer.
![Timer in document](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f46d1d4db469a4b6dfa3924/6450383585e2c770f3ed481d_Frame%2084713.png)
Rich text comments
Give clear and actionable feedback in your comments with the ability to format text and create lists.
![rich text comments](https://assets-global.website-files.com/5f46d1d4db469a4b6dfa3924/645038616e8fd380a0445acf_Frame%2084713.png)
Back to Introduction
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