Generate a large volume of diverse ideas quickly by encouraging free thinking and building on each other's concepts.
Brainstorming is a collaborative ideation method where teams rapidly generate a high volume of ideas without judgment to unlock creative solutions.
Brainstorming is one of the most widely used ideation techniques in UX design and product development. In a brainstorming session, a group of participants collaboratively generates a large number of ideas in response to a clearly defined problem statement, with all judgment and criticism deliberately suspended. The method was formalized by advertising executive Alex Osborn in the 1940s and has since become a foundational practice in design thinking, innovation workshops, and creative problem-solving across industries. UX researchers, product managers, designers, and cross-functional teams use brainstorming in the early stages of projects when the goal is to explore the broadest possible solution space before converging on specific directions. The method works best when participants come from diverse backgrounds and bring different perspectives to the problem. Effective facilitation is critical: the facilitator enforces ground rules such as deferring judgment, encouraging wild ideas, building on others' contributions, and prioritizing quantity over quality. When these principles are followed, brainstorming consistently produces more ideas per session than individual thinking, and the cross-pollination of perspectives leads to solutions that no single participant would have reached alone.
Identify the issue you want to address or the topic you want to explore. Set clear objectives and goals for the brainstorming session. This step helps to create a proper context and scope for the brainstorming activities.
Gather a diverse group of people, ideally between 5-12 participants. A mix of roles, experiences, and perspectives can contribute to a productive brainstorming session. Ensure everyone involved understands the brainstorming process and feels comfortable speaking up.
Gather all necessary materials for the brainstorming session, such as whiteboards, markers, post-it notes, and any relevant resources or research. Create an open, comfortable environment that encourages interaction and collaboration.
Set the rules for the brainstorming session to create an open and respectful atmosphere. Encourage open-mindedness, discourage criticism or judgment of ideas, and emphasize quantity over quality of ideas. Encourage participants to build on and combine ideas.
Begin the brainstorming session by presenting a clear problem statement or question. Encourage all participants to share their ideas, no matter how unorthodox they may seem. As ideas are shared, write them on a whiteboard or post-it notes, so everyone can see them.
As the facilitator, ensure that all participants are actively engaged in the process and feel comfortable sharing their ideas. Keep the discussion focused on the objective and encourage participants to think outside the box.
Keep track of the time during the brainstorming session, and set a specific time-frame for the activity (e.g., 30-45 minutes). This helps to maintain focus and energy levels among the participants.
At the end of the brainstorming session, review all the ideas generated. Narrow down the ideas to the most promising ones, then further evaluate and discuss their feasibility, relevance, and potential impact.
Create an action plan, outlining the next steps to be taken based on the selected ideas. Identify tasks, responsibilities, and timelines for further development or implementation of the chosen ideas.
Ensure there is appropriate follow-up after the brainstorming session. Regularly evaluate progress and make adjustments as necessary, based on the chosen ideas and their advancement. Share any updates and outcomes with the participants and stakeholders.
After a successful brainstorming session, the team will have generated a large collection of diverse ideas, typically ranging from 30 to 100+ depending on group size and session length. These ideas will span from practical improvements to wild concepts, providing a rich pool for subsequent evaluation. The team will have categorized and prioritized the most promising ideas, with clear action items and owners assigned for further exploration. Beyond the tangible outputs, participants will leave with increased energy, shared understanding of the problem space, and a sense of collective ownership over the direction forward.
Start with individual idea generation (silent writing) before group sharing to prevent anchoring on the first ideas spoken aloud.
Set a quantity target such as 50 ideas in 15 minutes to push the group past obvious solutions into truly creative territory.
Use 'Yes, and...' language instead of 'but' to keep energy positive and encourage building on each other's ideas.
Foster a supportive environment where wild ideas are celebrated because they often lead to practical innovations when refined.
Prevent digressions by regularly reiterating the problem statement and keeping a visible timer to maintain focus.
Experiment with variations like 6-3-5 brainwriting, reverse brainstorming, or worst-possible-idea to energize the group.
Photograph and digitize all post-it notes and whiteboard content immediately after the session before ideas are lost.
Separate divergent ideation from convergent evaluation by scheduling them as distinct phases, not mixing them together.
Criticizing or evaluating ideas during the divergent phase kills creativity and makes participants self-censor. Strictly separate idea generation from idea evaluation into distinct phases.
Without facilitation, extroverted or senior participants dominate the conversation. Use techniques like round-robin, silent writing, or sticky notes to ensure every voice is heard equally.
Starting with a problem statement that is too broad or unclear leads to unfocused ideas. Craft a specific, actionable How Might We question to give the session clear direction.
Generating ideas without a clear plan for what happens next wastes the team's creative energy. Always end with prioritization, assigned owners, and concrete next steps for the top ideas.
A group of people with identical backgrounds produces predictable ideas. Deliberately invite participants from different roles, departments, and experience levels to maximize creative cross-pollination.
Complete list of all ideas generated during the session, unfiltered and unedited.
Ideas grouped into themes or categories based on similarities and relationships.
Ranked list of ideas sorted by potential impact, feasibility, and relevance.
Specific tasks with owners and deadlines to explore or implement top ideas.
Rough visual representations of promising ideas for further team exploration.
Summary of key discussions, decisions, and insights from the session.
Audio or video recording for participants to revisit ideas and discussions.
Documented evaluation criteria used for prioritizing and selecting ideas.