Brainstorming and Painstorming

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Brainstorming and Painstorming

• Jonathan Weaver
• UDM Mechanical Engineering Department
• weaverjm_at_udmercy.edu

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References

• Otto, Kevin and Wood, Kristin Product Design
  Techniques in Reverse Engineering and New Product
  Development. Prentice Hall, 2001.
• Dieter, George E. Engineering Design A
  Materials and Processing Approach. Third Edition.
  McGraw-Hill, 2000.
• Ullman, David G. The Mechanical Design
  Process. Second Edition. McGraw-Hill, 1997.
• Wright, Ian Design Methods in Engineering and
  Product Design. McGraw-Hill, 1998.
• Dave Verduyn guest lectures at UDM.

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Agenda

• Brainstorming
• Painstorming

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What is Brainstorming

• Brainstorm
• Sudden disturbance of the mind sudden
  inspiration
• Brainstorming is an intuitive method of working
  as a team to generate concepts where team members
  communicate ideas verbally and with quick
  sketches
• All team members are encouraged to be open and
  uninhibited
• Goal is to comprehensively explore a breadth of
  solutions ideally leaving no promising directions
  unexplored
• Team members build upon each others ideas

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Advantages of Brainstorming

• A set of individuals can collectively build on
  each other to generate ideas that would not arise
  individually
• Each member of the group contributes ideas from
  his or her own viewpoint
• Good team builder/morale booster
• Its a great tool to start developing concepts
  (just dont make it the only tool used!)

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Disadvantages of Brainstorming

• The right idea may not come at the right
  time
• Group conventions may sidetrack or inhibit
  original ideas (hence it is best to have each
  individual generate ideas beforehand)
• The team may be distracted by a misdirected
  focus
• Certain team members may dominate the
  discussion
• Other than encouraging unconstrained thinking
  and out of the box ideas, there is very little
  direction or process to actively stimulate new
  ideas (well cover some tools for systematic
  innovation to address this)

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Brainstorming Process

• Form a group with 5 to 15 people (too few gives
  inadequate ideas, too many can break down the
  group into multiple conversations or inhibit
  participation)
• Designate a group leader/facilitator who will
  solely direct and record
• Introduce the problem , then brainstorm ideas
  wrap up when stagnation is reached (30-45
  minutes)
• Record all the ideas generated

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Brainstorming Guidelines

• Provide a suitable working environment
• Avoid hierarchically structured groups
• Dont confine the group to experts in the area
• Carefully define the problem beforehand (or at
  the start) and allow time for individual thought
• Do not allow the evaluation of ideas
• Think wild and encourage humor
• Practice applying the brainstorming technique
  on real, but non-critical problems to get good at
  it for the critical problems

End Brainstorming
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Painstorming

• Identifying and developing countermeasures to
  your customers pains Dave Verduyn
• Necessity is the Mother of Invention, and it is
  Frustration that Fuels the Fire!
• ALWAYS be on the lookout for the frustration that
  might fuel your big idea!
• Lets look at some examples of Painstorming

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• Whats annoying about the airline seat in front
  of you?

Knee Defender Fights for Space on Planes, NPR
All Things Considered, November 12, 2003 Lets
Listen
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• Whats the toughest part of putting on shoes
  for a 2 year old?

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• Whats the problem with this?

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• Whats the most common cause of
  non-weather-related down time in house framing?

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• Whats the most frustrating sound you hear when
  using a tape measure?

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• "One thing to bear in mind about serendipity is
  that you have to be looking for something in
  order to find something else."
• Lawrence Block (1938- ) is an acclaimed
  contemporary American crime writer who was
  designated as a Grand Master by the Mystery
  Writers of America in 1993.
• Most people only become aware of their
  surroundings when they are looking for something
  specific. But, by cultivating a sense of
  "huntfulness" all day, every day, you will not
  only find what you seek, but you will also
  discover all kinds of unexpected things that
  otherwise would have gone overlooked.
• This is one of the basic, yet most important
  attributes that distinguish successful, prolific
  innovators from the average person on the street.

Ideaologys Innovation Quote du Jour 20080410