Supporting Group Brainstorming

Previous Work: A brainstorming system is distinguished from computer-aided design and project management tools, which are tailored for design execution. Instead, we seek to assist the early, conceptual phase of problem-solving, when many alternatives are considered. Electronic brainstorming systems have been used successfully (Gallupe and Cooper, 1993; Neveitt, 2000). We seek to extend these approaches by (1) focusing specifically on collaborative (as opposed to private) brainstorming, (2) enabling users to express their ideas with natural modalities, and (3) developing a system that “thinks off-line” about the ideas it captures. Approach: Our approach is first to understand how people brainstorm effectively without computer support. To do this, we will collect and distill the principles used by professional brainstorming facilitators, then develop a system tailored to assist the process, using technologies like the following: