BRAINSTORMING TECHNIQUES

Brainstorming techniques fall into four broad categories: visioning, exploring, modifying, and experimenting. Each
category relies on different thought processes, such as intuition and data gathering, at different points. Brainstorming
can be done in a group, or alone by individuals.

VISIONING
Through the brainstorming technique of visioning, you imagine a
long-term, ideal future and generate ideas for achieving it. At this stage,
ignore constraints like money, time, and resources.

Use these steps to imagine an ideal future related to the problem you’re
trying to generate ideas for solving:

• “Wish List”
• “Ideal Scenario”
• “Time Machine”

EXPLORING
Through the brainstorming technique known as exploring, you use
symbols, analogies, or metaphors to describe an ideal scenario and to
challenge assumptions.

MODIFYING
Through the brainstorming technique called modifying, you start with
the status quo and seek to adapt some aspect of it. Try modifying a
current product, service, business process, or business model by
imagining it from the perspective of someone else, such as a customer.

Here are some additional ideas for modifying:

• “Subtract”
• “Add”
• “Multiply”
• “Divide”
• “Depend”

EXPERIMENTING
Through the brainstorming technique of experimenting, you
systematically combine elements in various ways and then test the
combinations.

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