Brainstorming is a collective idea-generating method that is used to activate the creative potential of team members by giving them input in form of raw ideas created by other team members just an instant before. In order to achive a high amount of creative cross pollination, brainstorming sessions are often conducted according to a set of rules like:

• write everything down, e.g. using mind mapping or whiteboarding
• do not criticise ideas
• do not limit ideas
• do not censor yourself, tell the idea early so others may build upon it

Criticism of brainstorming

As described in the blog entry Why brainstorming is a bad idea by Eugene Kuleshov, there are research results that suggest that brainstorming might have a negative effect on the number of ideas created in a session compared to separated knowledge workers who collect ideas separately.