Brainstorming

Definition
A process to generate lots of ideas around a problem or issue from the combined knowledge of all team members. Brainstorming is the most widely known and used of creativity tools around the world because it's simple and almost foolproof...when the process is followed and the results are used.

In Six Sigma, Brainstorming is particularly critical because you never know which member of the project team holds the key idea that will lead to a breakthrough solution. Brainstorming provides a standard operating procedure for consistently "thinking outside that box" that stands between you and Six Sigma performance.

Brainstorming was developed by Alex F. Osborn in the late 1930's. The original purpose to brainstorming was to improve meetings and generate novel ideas for marketing and advertising. Brainstorming has become the most commonly used idea generation tool; often it is used as a prelude to other creativity tools.