Brainstorming & Selecting Ideas

• Improve• Kaizen Facilitation

Objectives

• Review the process of Brainstorming• Learn basic rules of Brainstorming• Learn tips on how to ‘Challenge Assumptions’• Understand how to use a PICK chart to select

ideas / improvements

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• Where were you the last time you had a great idea?

• Idea generation doesn’t come naturally for most• Success takes quantity

Idea Generation

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Traditional Idea Generation

• It is important that ideas extend beyond improving upon today’s products and service delivery options• The success of the team will depend on the team’s ability to

generate innovative solutions• This requires a combination of analytical and creative thinking• Up to this point in your project your team has been heavily involved

in analytical thinking• Creative thinking can be learned and improved upon with practice

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Brainstorming

• A group creativity tool used to generate a large number of ideas to solve a problem

• There are different techniques• Round Robin: move around group in turn• Shout Out: as it comes to you• Silent: write down ideas on slip of paper• Post Up: Pin ideas / suggestions on board so all can see and add to –

good for getting inputs from different departments, the weekend crew or multi-shifts

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Idea Generation Tips

• Ideas and inspiration come from association – build on words, themes, topics• Try reverse thinking: how can we make this worse?

then turn it around• Ask why?, then ask why? And again …• Avoid idea assassins, eliminate the “can’t” word

from your group

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Watch out for “Expertise” TrapChallenge every assumption!

• “Everything that can be invented, has been invented.” • Charles Duell, Commissioner, US Patent Office, 1889

• “I Think There is A World Market for Maybe 5 Computers.” • Thomas Watson, Sr., Chairman, IBM Corp., 1943

• “640 K memory ought to be enough for any body.” • Bill Gates, 1981

• " No flying machine will ever fly from New York to Paris ...” • Orville Wright, Circa 1900

Rules for More Effective Brainstorming

• DO• Understand the focus, record all ideas• Allow individuals to complete their thoughts• Build on existing ideas (this is the power of brainstorming)• Strive for quantity – clarify the idea later…• Organize, categorize, and evaluate LATER!

• DON’T• Criticize ideas (consolidation and evaluation come later)• Make judgments, verbal or visual, as ideas are being offered• Allow any one person to dominate the session• Stop when the page is full, (hang paper up on wall and go on)

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Helpful Hints

• Save an idea or two for the session. When things slow sown, throw these ideas out to get the process going again• Read back ideas from the list to rekindle energy• Take a Break, encourage team members to stand up and walk around

or think about something else, then resume the session• Pre-determine how many ideas or pages you want to generate during

the session, encourage the team to persist through lulls to reach this goal

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Mind Mapping Technique• Structured way to capture and build upon ideas• Easy to use, self-documenting and spurs creativity!

Increase Productivity

by 1 MPH

UTRs

Crane

SSC

Yard Plan

CargoMix

Reduce Cycle Time

Increase # of UTRs

Review Yard

Layout

Reduce Downtime

Review Training

Reduce Cycle Time

Ideal Final Result (IFR) Technique

• Describes the end result to a problem, independent of the mechanism or constraints of the original• Ideal system occupies no space, has no weight, requires no labor,

requires no maintenance• Ideal system deliver benefit without harm

• Can be expressed in terms of “the problem taking care of itself” (i.e. - Cars parallel park themselves)• Examples of ideal final result “Itself” method

• Parts order themselves to maintain production• Containers loads themselves into the vessel• The word processor corrects typing errors by itself

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Available Resources Technique

• Make use of free and unused resources• Possible resources in the system to consider:• Material Resources: Modified materials, waste, raw materials, system

elements• Time Resources: Parallel Operations, pre/post work• Information Resources• People Resources• Field Resources: Energy in system or environment• Space Resources: Empty space, another dimension• Function Resources: Primary & secondary effects of features or attributes

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‘SCAMPER’ Technique• Substitute

• Who or what can I substitute in my process?

• Combine• How or what can I combine

with other activities?

• Adapt• What can I adapt or copy from

someone else’s process?

• Modify/Magnify • What can I magnify or put

more emphasis on?

• Put to another use • How can I put my process or

resources to other uses?

• Eliminate • What can I eliminate or

simplify in my process?

• Reverse/Rearrange• How can I change, reorder or

reverse the way I do my process?

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Tips/ Techniques to Stimulate Insight

Challenge assumptions:• Changing patterns—unexpected juxtaposition• Looking at things in different ways—making the strange familiar and the familiar strange• Adaptation—changing the context• Imagining—asking “What if?”• Reversal—looking for the opposite• Connection—joining two unrelated ideas• Comparison—building a metaphor• Elimination—subtracting something or breaking rules• Parody—making fun, looking for the humor

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PICK Chart

• Quick prioritization tool to identify which ideas to continue to pursue

Impa

ct

Effort

ChallengeImplement

low high

high

KillPossible

low

Steps to Use a ‘PICK’ ChartThe purpose of the PICK Chart activity is to decide which improvement ideas are most worthwhile, based on expected benefits and ease of implementation

1. Number (or write each idea on a sticky note) and place in one of the four PICK chart boxes

2. Decide whether each idea is hard or easy to achieve (effort). Think in terms of hours, manpower, expertise, and other factors that make the implementation easy or difficult

3. Choose a payoff category• Determine if the improvement idea will result in a high or low payoff

(impact)18

Steps (continued)

4. Place the number (or sticky note with the idea written on it) into the most suitable quadrant• Don’t put an idea on a line between two quadrants – this only

encourages the team to avoid making a decision about the idea

5. Choose improvement ideas based on their placement on the Chart• Possible - ideas that are easy to implement but have a low payoff• Implement - ideas that are easy to implement and a high payoff• Challenge - ideas that are hard to implement and difficult to

determine payoff• Kill - ideas that are hard to implement and have low payoff

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Review

• Understand the process of Brainstorming• Describe the rules of Brainstorming• Learn tips on how to ‘Challenge Assumptions’• Understand how to use a PICK chart to categorize and select

improvements considering impact and effort

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