What's the first step to brainstorming solutions?

2 Gather information

Once you have defined the problem, you need to gather as much relevant information as possible to understand the context, the causes, the effects, and the stakeholders of the problem. This will help you to identify the gaps, the opportunities, and the constraints that you need to consider when brainstorming solutions. You can use various sources of information, such as data, reports, surveys, interviews, observations, or feedback. You can also use tools such as SWOT analysis, fishbone diagram, or 5 whys to analyze the problem from different perspectives and find the root causes.

3 Set criteria

Before you start generating ideas, you need to set some criteria that will help you to evaluate and select the best solutions later. These criteria should be based on your problem statement, your goals, your resources, and your constraints. They should also be realistic, measurable, and prioritized. For example, some possible criteria for the problem of reducing the waiting time for online orders could be: cost-effectiveness, feasibility, scalability, customer satisfaction, and environmental impact.

4 Generate ideas

Now that you have prepared the ground for brainstorming, you can start generating as many ideas as possible to solve the problem. The key to effective brainstorming is to be open-minded, creative, and collaborative. You can use various techniques to stimulate your thinking, such as brainstorming questions, mind mapping, word association, or SCAMPER. You can also invite other people to join your brainstorming session and share their perspectives, insights, and suggestions. The more diverse and varied your ideas are, the better. Don't judge or filter any idea at this stage, just write them down and keep them visible.

5 Evaluate ideas

After you have generated a large number of ideas, you need to evaluate them according to your criteria and select the most promising ones for further development. You can use tools such as rating scales, pros and cons lists, or decision matrices to compare and rank your ideas. You can also ask for feedback from other people or test your ideas with prototypes or experiments. The goal of this step is to narrow down your options and focus on the most viable and valuable solutions.

6 Implement solutions

The final step to brainstorming solutions is to implement the selected solutions and monitor their results. You need to plan the actions, the resources, the responsibilities, and the timelines for implementing your solutions. You also need to communicate your solutions to the relevant stakeholders and get their support and buy-in. Moreover, you need to measure the impact of your solutions on the problem and the goal and check if they meet your expectations and criteria. If not, you need to review and refine your solutions or go back to the previous steps and generate new ideas.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?