Conduct a Successful Virtual Brainstorming Session
Conduct a Successful Virtual Brainstorming Session
In our last article, we discussed planning a virtual workshop. Today, we'll delve into how to conduct the planned brainstorming session, what preparations are needed, and share plenty of experiences along the way. In our case study we'll accompany Mia as she collaborates with Peter and Zou in their brainstorming session. Let's start with the theory.
What Is Brainstorming?
Brainstorming is a creative method used to generate as many ideas and perspectives on a selected topic as possible. It typically involves two phases: idea generation and evaluation. These phases differ fundamentally in both approach and the tools used.
Phase 1: Idea Generation
As the name suggests, this phase is all about collecting as many ideas as possible. Try to note down everything that comes to mind regarding the topic. Every idea is valuable — nothing is dismissed or judged at this stage. While these rules sound simple, they can be challenging to implement.
For example, if you're brainstorming ideas for a small party and someone suggests a fire show, note it down — even if a fire show doesn't seem to fit a small gathering in your mind. The concept behind this extensive idea collection is that participants can be inspired by the ideas noted. Even if the fire show seems over the top (which no participant should mention at this stage!), it might spark alternative entertainment ideas.
Refraining from negative comments on others' ideas can be tough, but it's crucial that everyone in the group understands the importance of holding back. As the moderator, you must intervene if someone makes a negative remark, reminding them of the agreed - upon rules. To reduce such situations, it can be helpful to thank participants who offer seemingly outlandish ideas. It takes courage, and as a moderator, you can acknowledge that. Mention this when you explain the rules at the beginning.
Tools for Phase 1
It's essential that all collected information is visually accessible to all participants. You need to record ideas so that everyone can see them. Often, groupings naturally emerge as you note down ideas. Returning to the party planning example, ideas like procuring salads, bread, cheese — can be grouped under Food. Together with drinks, this could form the Catering category.
A mind map is an excellent tool for this purpose. Here's an example for the aforementioned party:
If the workshop is virtual, choose a suitable program in advance and familiarize yourself with it. You can find many free mind mapping tools via our search. Share your screen during the brainstorming session and diligently record ideas.
Experiences in Phase 1
Things can get lively, and that's a good thing. Try not to stifle the creative process by overthinking whether you can form new groups. The key is to note everything quickly; you can reorganize during calmer moments.
If the session isn't gaining momentum, it can help to have a few absurd suggestions ready to throw into the mix. If you're not familiar with the topic, no one will hold it against you. If you're an expert, it's acceptable to introduce wild ideas to spark creativity. How the ideas get on paper doesn't matter initially.
Groups can sometimes be very heterogeneous, with both introverted and extroverted participants. As the moderator, it's your job to integrate everyone. Directly ask quieter participants for their ideas; they often have valuable contributions. This approach can also help temper participants who dominate the conversation. In the end, the goal is to have everyone's ideas represented, not just one person's.
Phase 2: Evaluation
Now that you've gathered many ideas, take a short break. It's time to evaluate the ideas objectively. The pause helps gain some distance. Do you have a favorite idea? Do you find another particularly unappealing? Try to set aside these biases and, if possible, forget who suggested which idea.
To evaluate ideas objectively, consider whether the idea can be implemented within your means and whether it offers an effective and efficient solution to your topic. Not sure about the difference? Learn more here.
Using the party example again: If your goal is for guests to have fun, the event to be entertaining, and to keep costs low, a fire show might not be the best idea. However, for a corporate event, like for an insurance company, a fire show with a staged "mishap" could be a memorable effect.
In your group, align your ideas with your goals. Evaluate each idea. You'll find that some can be easily dismissed, while others will spark lengthy discussions. For ideas where consensus isn't quickly reached, a decision matrix might help.
Using a Decision Matrix
A decision matrix is a tool to select the most promising idea from a multitude. List the ideas vertically and write criteria important to your goal next to them. First, rate each criterion based on its importance to achieving your goal, using numbers from 2 to 10 in increments of 2 (2 being least relevant, 10 most relevant).
Next, evaluate each idea against the criteria (to avoid bias, you can cover the criteria ratings). If the idea meets the criterion well, it gets 5 points; adequately, 3 points; poorly or not at all, 1 point. Multiply the criterion's weight by the idea's score and sum up the totals for each idea. The idea with the highest score is the most suitable.
In this example, a problem becomes apparent. Effort and Cost have negative connotations, while Fun is positive. A high score for Fun means the idea is more enjoyable. A high score for Cost or Effort suggests the idea has low costs or requires little effort. This often leads to confusion and unproductive discussions.
To avoid this issue, describe all criteria positively — for example, use Cost Efficiency instead of Cost and Low Effort instead of Effort.
Case Study: Mia's online brainstorming workshop
The Workshop Begins
Mia sent out the invitations in the last article, and today the workshop is happening. Everyone arrives punctually in the virtual meeting room. Before diving into the brainstorming session, Mia welcomes her friends and reviews the agenda — refer to planning a virtual workshop. With no objections or additions, they begin with introductions.
Next, they establish ground rules for the workshop. Since there are only three of them, they decide against raising hands before speaking, which can be useful in larger groups. However, they agree it's important to let others finish speaking and to listen actively. This includes avoiding distractions, so they agree to keep their phones away and close email and chat programs on their computers.
Mia reiterates her goals for the workshop. She wants to develop a shared understanding of the video chat's functionality and include and evaluate all her friends' ideas. For Peter, enjoying the process and the workshop is important, and he wants to keep that in mind. He also wishes to know what tasks to start working on after the workshop. Zou agrees with everything said and adds that learning something new is important to her. Let's see if they all achieve their goals.
The Brainstorming Session
To gather as many ideas as possible for the future video chat's features, Mia has chosen brainstorming. To ensure everyone is on the same page, she explains the process once more, specifically emphasizing the behavioral rules in Phase 1 and asking that no ideas be judged negatively.
And so they begin. Peter, who has already noted many ideas at home, starts enthusiastically. Mia records the points in a mind map as quickly as she can. Zou is a bit more reserved; she's not as tech-savvy as Peter and Mia. But Mia finds this interesting and directly asks Zou what she finds particularly important in a video chat. For instance, Zou suggests a recording function so she can revisit important parts later.
Peter also proposes leveraging existing open-source solutions instead of building everything from scratch. Mia interjects, "We're focusing on features, not solutions!" While she's technically correct, that comment was a judgment. The idea is valid and should be included. Zou points this out, and Mia apologizes to Peter, adding the idea to the mind map.
After about 15 minutes, they have created an extensive mind map and take a short break.
The Evaluation
They work on the ideas directly within the mind map. Mia uses different colors to highlight promising ideas and strike through less feasible ones. They also mark ideas that aren't features but are still helpful.
For some feature ideas, they're unsure. They note these in a decision matrix. The criteria they choose for evaluating the ideas are Effort, User Benefit, and Knowledge Required for implementation. They decide User Benefit is most important and assign it 10 points. Since they also want to complete the project promptly, they assign 8 points to Low Effort. As they enjoy acquiring new knowledge, they assign only 4 points to Knowledge Required.
Each idea is evaluated against these criteria, and they plan to include the top three.
Mia, Peter, and Zou have now defined the feature set. However, the workshop isn't over yet. In the next step, they want to concretize their ideas and will conduct a variation of Event Storming. You'll learn how that works and what they achieve in the next article.
Note: This article is part of our series on virtual workshops and effective project planning. Discover more posts on project management, agile working, and self-organization on our blog.
Share your experiences or ask us your questions about online brainstorming workshops! Leave a comment or discuss with us on X or LinkedIn.