Revision as of 13:41, 12 February 2018

Abstract

Brainstorming is a creativity exercise where individuals or groups of people generate ideas impulsively with the goal of finding solutions to a specific problem. It is a simple, yet powerful tool used in virtually all industries. The term was originally introduced in the year 1953 by Alex Oxford in his book “Applied Imagination” and has now become one of best known idea generation method in the world. Brainstorming combines a relaxed, informal approach to problem solving providing an open environment that encourages everyone involved to participate. No idea is a bad idea no matter how wild they are and people are given the freedom of mind and action to spark off and reveal new ideas. Therefore, people should avoid criticizing or rewarding ideas during the brainstorming session as it limits the idea generation and creativity ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

In the following article the overall idea of the brainstorming technique will be discussed; when, how and why it should be used and other general guidelines. Furthermore, other brainstorming variations will be introduced following with limitations of the technique and its strength and weaknesses. Finally, references relevant to the article are listed for further reading.

Overview of brainstorming

Origin

By whom it was introduced, how, when and why.

What is brainstorming?

Application

General guidelines and rules of brainstorming.

Variations of brainstorming

This section will cover briefly what different types of brainstorming there are and how they work.

After brainstorming

What do you with all the ideas? Here, techniques for analysing the output of the brainstorming session will be outline and discussed.

Limitations

Limitations of Brainstorming and advantages + disadvantages

Strength

Weaknesses

Annotated bibliography

References

1. ↑ Hernandez, E. (2016) Leading Creative Teams. Apress.
2. ↑ Maylor, H. Institute (2008) Project Management. Pearson.
3. ↑ Project Management Institute. (2010) The Standard for Project Management. Project Management Institute.