Rules of a brainstorming session:
1. Defer the judgment
¾ Don’t criticize during the initial stage of idea generation
¾ Phrases such as “it won’t work”, “it’s too expensive” etc. should not be used
2. Build on the ideas of others
¾ Encourage participants to extend others ideas by avoiding “buts” and using “ands”
3. Encourage wild ideas
¾ Encourage out-of-the-box thinking
¾ The wilder and more outrageous the ideas, the better
4. Go for quantity over quality
¾ Focusing on quantity encourages people to think beyond their favorite ideas
5. Be visual
¾ Use different colored pens to write on big sheets of paper or white boards
6. Stay focused on the topic
¾ A facilitator should be used for keeping the discussion on target
7. One conversation at a time
¾ The ground rules are that no one interrupts another person, no dismissing of someone’s
ideas, no disrespects, and no rudeness.
The Delphi Technique
Decisions often have to be made by experts in different geographical areas. The Delphi technique is a
decision making technique that does not require the physical presence of the participants. This technique
is a group process that anonymously generates ideas or judgments from physically dispersed experts.
Ideas are obtained from questionnaires as opposed to face-to-face group discussions. In this technique
the group’s members never meet face to face.
Process of the Delphi techniques
¾ The manager identifies the issue to be investigated
¾ Choose the experts to participate – there should be a variety of knowledgeable people in
different areas
¾ Develop a questionnaire
¾ The questionnaire is sent to participants and returned to the manager (usually by e-mail)
¾ The manager then summarize the responses and sends feedback to the participants with
appropriate new questions
¾ Participants are asked to
ο Review the feedback
ο Prioritize the issues being considered
ο Return the survey within a specific time period
¾ The cycle repeats until the manager obtains the necessary information