Ideate

Having Trouble Coming Up With an Idea?

Brainstorming as a group is the best technique for idea exploration and generation. Essentially, brainstorming is a process designed to generate a lot of ideas on a given topic without stopping to talk about or evaluate them as they are written down. The first and most important rule of this initial process is to throw all criticism out the window. It is crucial that all members feel confident and are not discouraged to put forward wild ideas. The best ideas often come from those who dare to think differently! The second is to focus on the quantity of ideas, rather than quality. The assumption is that the greater the number of ideas you generate, the bigger your chance is of producing a radical and effective solution. The focus on quality will come later.

Creative Ways to Brainstorm if You Get Stuck

EBE Recommended Brainstorming Steps:

Allow everyone to write down some of their own ideas prior to the session
Find a private and comfortable meeting spot
Set a time limit. 1-2 hours should be sufficient
Spend the first half using pre-written ideas to spark further ideas, making sure to write EVERYTHING down as you go. There should be no criticism at this point
Spend the second half narrowing the list down to the most promising idea(s) (limit this to three ideas max). One way to make this step easier is by scoring each idea with a number from 0 to 5. Keep practicality in mind for this step!
If one idea cannot be settled upon unanimously by the end of this session, take additional time apart to think, then plan another date/time to reconvene as a group. Once together again, set a time limit and agree to have one idea left by the end of the session (It is likely that compromises will need to be made)

Note: The idea that your group chooses to proceed with may not work out- THAT’S OKAY. You can always fall back on previous ideas if necessary.

Engineering, Business, & Entrepreneurship

IDEATE

Broad Topics

Practical

Concepts

Final

Idea

Continue to "Survey"