Finally! We've reached my favourite brainstorming technique.
What is Brain Boarding?
Everyone writes down their ideas at the same time.
Setup half a dozen pieces of butcher's paper around the room (call these "stations"). Divide each piece of paper into a grid (say 3 columns wide and 4 rows high, using a sharpie/texta). Give everyone a pen (or sharpie/texta). Tell them they must write each idea into a separate cell in any grid. Encourage them to move from station to station and to read other people's ideas once they've written their own ideas down. This often triggers new ideas. Make sure you have some spare butcher's paper on hand…you'll probably need it.
Why I love Brain Boarding?
It is the fastest way I have found to get a substantial number of ideas down on paper. With all other techniques you're typically capturing one idea at a time. Brain Boarding captures all ideas from all attendees at the same time. Everyone is working. No-one is waiting for their "turn".
On a project I was working on, we identified over 180 risks in under an hour. That's about three times as many risks than are normally identified in a 4-hour workshop using structured brainstorming. i.e. three times the quantity of risks in a quarter of the time. This is extraordinarily efficient use of people's time.
What about the Scribe and Facilitator?
There's no need for a scribe because everyone is their own scribe. (Perhaps remind them to write legibly).
The facilitator's role is to:
- Describe the process and the objectives of the workshop.
- Monitor what's happening in the room.
- Remind people to move to another station and read what others have written.
- Consider using guide words to prompt thoughts in attendees when the flow of ideas slumps.
- Decide when there are no more ideas left to transcribe.
- Move the workshop into the "Understanding" and "Critiquing" phases.
What types of brainstorming sessions are suited to Brain Boarding?
- Risk identification
- Brainstorming solutions to technical problems (great when the ideas need to be sketched by hand)
- Marketing program concept identification
- Research and development brainstorming
- …and many others.
Does this have to be done with butcher's paper?
No! During Covid I ran a brain boarding session in Excel via Teams. I placed the topic at the top of the worksheet. Then I gave each person a column in the worksheet. Then everyone wrote their ideas simultaneously. This approach works great when you have a team that works remotely. I prefer the "in-person" approach as it builds teamwork through person-to-person interactions…BUT…Excel and Teams does work where geographical limitations apply!
Warning!
A large quantity of ideas doesn't mean each idea is a quality idea. The large volume of ideas can be overwhelming. It is imperative that ideas are critiqued to decide which ones should be retained, culled or coalesced with another idea. Allocate someone (perhaps A.I.) to collate all ideas into a single electronic list (e.g. in Word or Excel). Use A.I. to review the list to coalesce duplicate ideas and suggest which ideas should be culled. Review the A.I suggestions to ensure they match the objectives you are trying to achieve.
This Technique is Best Used When…
- You want to extricate personality-type from the quality of the outcome,
- Quick idea generation is needed,
- A large volume of ideas is preferred,
- Attendee numbers could vary from 3 to 30 people,
The experience level of the Facilitator is not critical. They need to be someone who is confident enough to take a group of people through a process but prior experience is not mandatory. Confidence over competence in this situation.
My Verdict
This is my go-to technique for brainstorming. Mind-mapping still has its place and Reverse Brainstorming can be used to frame the topic for Brain Boarding (if relevant for your scenario). So far, in 30 years, I haven't seen a better technique for generating a large number of ideas in a very short period of time. Try it! You won't be disappointed.
Happy Brain Boarding!
I'm keen for you to share your thoughts on Brain Boarding. Did you see efficiency and effectiveness benefits like me? Share your thoughts below so others can learn…
…and once you have a list of actions, the CalculitX Project Action Tracker can track each action through to completion and report progress along the journey. Check it out here.
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