Setting the Game Plan

Brainstorming:

When you think of collaboration, what pops in your head? Maybe people thinking of ideas together, discussing what can and cannot work, conducting research as a group or maybe just simply bouncing ideas off each other. For Harvard Business Review, Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic wrote an article called, “Why Group Brainstorming Is a Waste of Time.” When I first noticed this bold statement, it made me think about how this applies to the design sprint process.

In the article, Chamorro-Premuzic points out that brainstorming was first introduced by Alex Osborn in the 1950s. According to Osborn, brainstorming is based on four principles:

1. Generate as many ideas as possible.
2. Prioritize unusual and original ideas.
3. Combine and refine the generated ideas.
4. Abstain from criticism during the exercise.

Although Osborn claimed brainstorming in a group should improve creativity by about 50% versus working independently, Chamorro-Premuzic found in a meta-analytic review with over 800 teams, individuals were able to better generate original ideas on their own when not interacting with others.  

Why is this the case?

Chamorro Premuzic lists four reasons including:

• Social loafing — When people make less of an effort while working in a group.
• Social anxiety — People are either introverted or worried group members won’t agree with their ideas.
• Regression to the mean — The most talented group members level down to the least talented group members, blocking their highest potential.
• Production blocking — The more group members, the less ideas shared and thought of by each member.

Design Sprint Phase I:

As mentioned earlier, I was intrigued when I saw “Why Group Brainstorming Is a Waste of Time,” and it made me wonder how it applies to design sprints. When I first met with my group to develop a financial learning platform for teens ages 13 to 19, we started by sharing our overall end goal. In the book, “Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days,” writers Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky and Braden Kowtiz explain how important it is to start at the end. This crucial step in the design sprint process helps refine the brainstorming process. By having an end goal, it’s easier for team members to develop ideas.

“Your goal should reflect your team’s principles and aspirations. Don’t worry about overreaching. The sprint process will help you find a good place to start and make real progress toward even the biggest goal.”

— Knapp, Zeratsky and Kowtiz

When developing the goal, each team member works independently to come up with their own ideas. Once each member writes their ideas on sticky notes, the group votes on each idea. By having each team member work independently and then sharing the ideas, it allows for a much more productive brainstorm. In Susan Adams' Forbes article “4 Steps to Successful Brainstorming,” she lists Ralph Keeney’s steps:

1. Lay out the problem you want to solve.
2. Identify the objectives of a possible solution.
3. Try to generate solutions individually.
4. Work as a group.

This process can apply to any design sprint. Whether a team is trying to generate questions, map out key ideas or conduct a lighting demo, having members develop ideas independently then sharing as a group will help move the project along quickly.

Sketching it out:

As I was sketching my ideas, I found myself getting into a flow state where I kept developing more and more ideas. I had to make sure I wasn’t going too off track of the project, but I discovered other potential features my group’s app could have. For example, my group and I thought of having competitive quizzes that would allow teams to win rewards and points so they’d want to learn more about finance. As I was sketching how this could look like, I thought of the idea of having teams where teens can come together to compete in quizzes against other teams, which led to the idea of chat groups among teammates and then chat AI for extra help. These ideas came about as I was sketching independently and let my mind wander. I then had more ideas to give to the group after our first brainstorm session.

Since design sprints are quick processes, it’s important to follow the most effective techniques. Allowing each team member to generate ideas on their own and then share with the group leads to the ultimate product!