How can you use brainstorming to identify process improvements?

1 Define the problem

Before you start brainstorming, you need to have a clear and specific problem statement that defines what you want to improve and why. A problem statement should be concise, measurable, and actionable, and should include the current situation, the desired situation, and the gap between them. For example, a problem statement could be: "Our project team takes too long to respond to customer queries, resulting in lower satisfaction and retention rates. We want to reduce the average response time from 48 hours to 24 hours."

2 Invite the participants

The next step is to invite the right people to join the brainstorming session. You want to have a diverse and cross-functional group of participants who can contribute different perspectives, experiences, and expertise to the problem. Ideally, you should have between 5 and 10 people, and include representatives from the project team, the customer, and other relevant stakeholders. You should also assign a facilitator who can guide the session, encourage participation, and keep track of the ideas.

3 Set the rules and goals

Before you start generating ideas, you need to set some ground rules and goals for the brainstorming session. The rules should foster a positive and respectful atmosphere, where participants feel free to share their thoughts without fear of criticism or judgment. Some common rules are: no evaluation or debate during the ideation phase, quantity over quality, build on other's ideas, and be open-minded and constructive. The goals should be realistic and achievable, and should specify the number and type of ideas you want to generate. For example, a goal could be: "We want to come up with at least 20 ideas for reducing the response time to customer queries."

4 Generate ideas

The core of the brainstorming session is the ideation phase, where participants share their ideas for solving the problem. There are many techniques you can use to stimulate creativity and generate ideas, such as mind mapping, brainwriting, SCAMPER, reverse brainstorming, and six thinking hats. You can use one or more of these techniques depending on the nature and complexity of the problem, and the preferences of the participants. The facilitator should encourage everyone to participate, record all the ideas on a flip chart or a whiteboard, and avoid any filtering or evaluation at this stage.

5 Evaluate ideas

Once you have generated enough ideas, you need to evaluate them and select the most promising ones for further analysis and testing. You can use various criteria to evaluate the ideas, such as feasibility, impact, cost, alignment with the project objectives, and customer value. You can also use different tools to rank and prioritize the ideas, such as voting, rating, dotmocracy, or matrix analysis. The facilitator should ensure that the evaluation process is fair and transparent, and that the participants provide constructive feedback and rationale for their choices.

6 Plan the next steps

The final step of the brainstorming session is to plan the next steps for implementing the selected ideas. You should assign roles and responsibilities, define the scope and timeline, identify the resources and risks, and establish the metrics and indicators for measuring the success of the process improvement. You should also communicate the results of the brainstorming session to the project team, the customer, and other relevant stakeholders, and solicit their feedback and support. You should also monitor and review the progress and impact of the process improvement, and make any necessary adjustments along the way.

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?