Brainstorming helps a team generate ideas quickly. Use it to surface the possible causes of a problem, or possible solutions to test, as a first step before analysis.
How brainstorming works
Brainstorming works best when every idea is welcome, including unusual ones. Unexpected suggestions often trigger others.
A good brainstorming session has:
- a small group of up to 10 people who work directly with the problem or process
- a facilitator
- a clearly defined topic, repeated as the session runs
- ideas captured quickly as short phrases
- no criticism or rejection of ideas
- discussion only to explain or clarify a suggestion
- equal participation, with no one staff member dominating.
Brainstorming with sticky notes
Brainstorming in silence with sticky notes lets everyone contribute equally and limits the influence of senior or louder voices.
To run a silent brainstorm:
- Give each person a stack of sticky notes.
- Ask everyone to write their ideas about the topic in silence, one idea per note.
- Be specific. "Education" is too broad. "Staff training on anticoagulation pathway not available" is usable.
- Place all sticky notes on a flat surface, such as butchers' paper on a table or a wall.
Use our virtual sticky notes template for online brainstorming sessions.
Brainstorm using the 5 Why’s technique
The 5 Why’s is a way to drill down to the root cause of a problem, rather than stopping at the first apparent cause.
To use it in a brainstorm:
- State the problem and ask why it exists.
- Document the answer and ask why that exists.
- Repeat 5 or more times, until you reach the root cause.
The first answer is rarely the real cause. The aim is not to assign blame, but to find the underlying cause so you can take action that prevents the problem from recurring.