Brainwriting - Essay

Brainwriting

When to use it

Brainwriting is particularly useful tool for diverging (generating ideas) with a

group of people who are somewhat reticent and would be unlikely to offer

many ideas in an open group brainstorming session.

It is also useful when you want to break up the task into sub-problems – for

instance, different technologies or different segments within a given market –

and work on them simultaneously.

It also works well with large groups - there is no real limit to the group size.

How to use it

1. Give everyone a brainwriting sheet

Hand out sheets as below, with space for a problem definition at the top of

the page, and rectangles below into which ideas can be written. have as

many rows of rectangles as will fit on one sheet of paper. Make the space in

the rectangle big enough to contain an average suggestion.

Problem:

Other info:

2. Identify problems

Each person writes their assigned problem at the top of the page. It can be a

different problem for each person or it can be the same for a group, for

example, if several people at one table are given the same problem.

Other useful information might be the larger category in which the problem

sits, for example, a market segment, a technology, a channel.

3. Write ideas

The general process is to "start an idea" by writing it at the top of a blank

column. Other people then read that idea and add to it by writing an

enhancement in the row below it using the existing ideas as stimuli.

Their contribution may be a refinement, a variant, a broadening of the idea's

scope, etc., etc.

At any time, a person can "start" another idea by writing it at the top of a

blank column.

Brain drawing, too

The "ideas" can also be drawings. If you anticipate drawings, be sure to

make