Brainstorming is a commonly used and effective method for generating a large number of ideas. Brainstorming can lead to creative solutions, and strengthen team identity through participation. The purpose in a brainstorm session is to generate lots of ideas. The goal at this stage is quantity, not quality. We can sort out the quality of the ideas later. We will look at some basic types of brainstorming, but there are many, many more. Some like cause and effect diagrams are specialized structured brainstorming tools. Use brainstorming whenever you need to generate ideas. This could be a way to begin your problem statement. To identify root causes, or corrective actions, or improvement ideas. Remember, that brainstorming only generates ideas. Later, we will learn a few tools for selecting ideas. When you begin a brainstorming session, it's important to clearly define the purpose of the brainstorm. Define your topic and give participants a few minutes to think about it. One of the most important and difficult rules to follow is no evaluation. Not even positive evaluation like good idea. We want to encourage lots of ideas, and some of them might seem like wild ideas, even to those who proposed them. This is okay, wild idea may not be so wild when we examine it. Or it may trigger a useful idea from someone else. Sharing in this manner, allows team members to build on each other's ideas. Again, the objective is quantity. We want lots and lots of ideas. These are just a few of the common variations of brainstorming. Free wheeling is probably the most common. Everyone just shouts out their ideas. This is good, because it creates a certain energy and excitement. But sometimes, you may have team members who are uncomfortable and hesitant, or others who tend to dominate. If this is the case you might want to use one of the alternatives. In the round robin, you can go around the room and take turns. This can prevent one person from dominating. In the slip method, participants write down their ideas, and pass them to a scribe, this helps quieter members. Some people prefer a quiet room for thinking. But with either of these methods, you lose some of the energy, and possibly opportunities to build on ideas that you might have in a free wheeling brainstorm session. These are some tips for successful brainstorming. If possible, particularly in your first brainstorming session, it's a good idea to use an experienced facilitator who was not a participant in the brainstorm. This facilitator can enforce the brainstorming rules and manage the team, in a way that will prevent anyone from dominating, while drawing out others who are more hesitant. Use more than one scribe. Typically, ideas will come more quickly than the scribe can record them. Waiting for the scribe to catch up can drain some energy from the session. Two Scribes can use two flip charts, and while one is writing, the other can receive the next idea. It's important to try to record ideas exactly as participants have stated them. We do not want scribes to interpret, because this might change the meaning of the idea. When the brainstorm dies down, the scribes should go through the list of ideas to confirm that they captured them accurately. Then ideally in the same session, other tools can be used to reduce the list, and ultimately select one, or a few ideas. Most teams use brainstorming frequently. It's useful in nearly every phase of an improvement project. Brainstorms often begin spontaneously, and are informal. But they're more effective, if they're intentional and structured. It's very difficult to not evaluate ideas as they're proposed. This takes discipline, which can be imposed by a facilitator. Remember, there will be ample opportunity for evaluation in subsequent activities.