Run digital brainstorms to generate ideas time and place independent and get the best ideas out there.
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Learn more about Online digital brainstorms
Online brainstorming leverages different digital tools and applications to conduct virtual brainstorming sessions that would generate ideas for innovation.
Such technologies may include mind maps, video conferencing software, sticky notes, online whiteboard, and file-sharing applications to collect and organize ideas.
Often used in hybrid and remote work setups, online brainstorming is one of the most effective techniques to produce ideas, even when employees live in different parts of the world.
Hence, this process makes it possible for teams to collaborate despite their differences in place and time.
Because almost every organization is used to the traditional, face-to-face way of brainstorming, some businesses think that holding an online brainstorming session isn’t as beneficial as the conventional method.
However, research claims that companies who work on a hybrid or remote setup are more likely to reap more innovation benefits than in-person businesses due to their application of innovation practices, including the virtual brainstorming or ideation process.
Moreover, other than being time and place independent, online brainstorming also allows:
- An unlimited number of participants
- Cloud-based virtual boards and tools for easy storage and retrieval of relevant information
- Undercover mode for an anonymous sharing of ideas
- Simultaneous sharing, where attendees may present and discuss ideas at the same time
- Adaptable features of innovation platforms, such as Accept Mission’s gamification features for engagement increase
Preparing an online brainstorming session requires preparation. Here’s how you can thoroughly prepare for it.
1. Identify the issue
Establish the topic or question that will be addressed during the brainstorming session. The question should be simple, concise, and unambiguous to bring out the best ideas from everyone.
2. Determine who your participants will be
Participants should be invested in the issue or subject. Include both specialists and non-experts to create a balance.
Professionals can offer useful suggestions, ideas, and tips on the subject, particularly if it falls within their area of expertise. Non-experts, on the other hand, may not know as much.
But this only means they have a more restricted sense of what they can’t achieve, which implies that they have a greater range of freedom when presenting their thoughts.
Also, don’t flood the session with so many participants as three to seven is enough. That way, you can develop a continuous stream of brainstorming ideas without attendees fighting over who gets to say what or whose idea is a lot better.
3. Determine how you will proceed from brainstorming to evaluation and selection of final concepts
To boost productivity and minimize obstacles, you can create a system from brainstorming to selection.
You can ask your participants to rank and vote on the ideas they like and present those concepts in the planning phase where stakeholders, management, and other qualified consultants can review them for selection.
4. Select a brainstorming approach
Determine how you will foster communication throughout the brainstorming session. Your choice may vary depending on your number of participants, objectives, and other considerations.
Don’t forget to gather the attendees’ buy-in ahead of time so they are always ready to contribute. Drop them an email about the flow of the brainstorming session too to secure a seamless exchange of ideas.
5. Decide on tools
Choose brainstorming tools that fit your organization’s needs and allow the participants to familiarize its features before the brainstorming session starts.
Search for the right idea-generation software, collaborative tools, digital boards, notebooks, and other digital brainstorming needs.
6. Create a virtual environment for your brainstorming session
Aside from your virtual space, try to incorporate fun elements in your brainstorming sessions like templates, timers, voting mechanisms, and many others. The goal is to make it as simple as possible for your organization to get started.
7. Send out a meeting invite with an agenda
Don’t forget to send your participants invitations that have complete details about the brainstorming session. Drop the invitation at least a month before the session. Then send a reminder three days before the actual event.
While agendas may vary, here’s a rough outline of what a productive brainstorm might look like:
1. Select a problem or theme to discuss
Specify the issue or subject that will be covered during the online brainstorming session. To make things easier, attempt to turn the brainstorming topic into a clear and straightforward question.
Also, when selecting a topic, evaluate whether you’re dealing with a problem or an opportunity.
2. Choose a brainstorming technique
Decide on the method of brainstorming that you want to use. Think about the theme you’ve chosen and research which method fits best in response to it. Don’t forget to consider what you intend to achieve at the conclusion of the session as well.
Some popular brainstorming techniques include storyboarding, mind mapping, SWOT analysis, round robin, business model canvas, rapid ideation, and many others.
3. Choose your innovation tools
Once you’ve settled for a brainstorming method, choose the ideal tool for the task. If this is your first virtual brainstorming session, keep in mind that there are several tools available.
Assuming you’ve chosen ideation, search for the best ideation software available in the market today. Then, study how you can use it to further your brainstorming agenda.
As an idea and innovation management software, you can use Accept Mission to build a virtual idea box or launch an ideation mission where participants can contribute as many new ideas as they can while using an alias.
4. Identify who your participants will be
Once you’ve decided on a topic, it’s time to choose the participants. Ask experts to obtain a deeper understanding of the topic, but don’t dismiss non-experts either.
They may be able to provide the team with different insights on how to approach the subject or issue you wish to improve or solve.
5. Prepare your virtual space
Prepare the virtual space for your upcoming brainstorming session. Plan the entire activity from start to finish so you can provide further details about it for your attendees.
Accept Mission has several templates you can choose from when launching “missions” or campaigns. Plus, it has a built-in mission builder that you can utilize to modify brainstorming sessions, including their time, duration, and many others.
You can also switch on the undercover mode to encourage your participants to participate anonymously.
6. Send out the invitations
Now that you’ve laid the groundwork, it’s time to invite your attendees to the session. It’s an excellent idea to provide them with some background on the subject so they can gather enough insights ahead of time.
Send out invitations via email or private messaging. However, if you’re using ideation tools like Accept Mission, you may send out an invitation through the tool by adding the person’s name to your email list.
Plus, with Accept Mission’s gamification features, you can make this experience fun by giving out points and other rewards to foster engagement.
7. Start brainstorming
After you’ve set everything up and invited your attendees, the only thing left to do is manage the session.
The key for this step is to keep in mind that striking the right balance is essential between allowing your participants to brainstorm and leading them through the exercise.
Some helpful practices you may put in place are:
- Contribute to each other’s ideas instead of being critical. That way, your participants will feel that they are truly free to express their ideas.
- Welcome every input. Make the session as collaborative as possible. Allow everyone to speak and develop discussions.
- Stimulate deeper thought by asking the right questions.
Remember that the goal of brainstorming is to generate as many ideas as possible. Following the session, ideas will be chosen and reviewed. The more ideas you generate, the higher your chances of finding one or two exceptional ones.
It’s also a good idea to utilize gamification components to encourage your members to participate more actively.
Create a feeling of urgency by using clocks, deadlines, and other constraints. Lastly, increase the effectiveness of the session by encouraging participants to collaborate with one another.
Dashboard. Accept Mission has a dashboard that you can use to provide key innovation insights to assess and enhance innovation performance immediately.
Leaderboards. With leaderboards, you can gain a comprehensive summary of all the outstanding participants within your company through your top agents’ points and rewards.
Idea boxes. Make digital idea boxes to gather and organize all ideas for solving issues and designing suitable solutions.
Selection results. By setting pre-defined criteria, selecting ideas with Accept Mission has never been easier. The tool will immediately give you the ideas that gained the most number of likes, comments, and interactions from your chosen participants.
Collection of ideas with campaigns. With this tool, you can run great innovation campaigns that could help you gather ideas while increasing brand awareness at the same time.
Collaboration on the review process. Accept Mission is also a collaboration tool that can help your team develop ideas for solving real-world challenges for the benefit of the business and its consumers.
