This paper describes an artifact-centric approach to a traditional ideation method, brainstorming. Picturestorming uses human-centric images to stimulate ideas in a collaborative setting. In an exploratory study, I found that picturestorming may address limitations of standard brainstorming by reducing evaluation apprehension and production blocking. Pictures also support reflection and group c...

Brainstorming done right is an exhilarating, exhausting process. Two heads are better than one as long as both are actively trying to accomplish the same goal. But those two heads also can achieve less together than either could alone. It depends on many things. In the best case, both people realize that for nontrivial problems, neither one has all the right answers. They engage in a discussion...

Much of HCI concentrates on how to critique existing designs. What is more difficult is figuring out how to generate successful new designs, especially designs that are grounded in the real-world needs of the users. While it may be tempting to simply start building prototypes, it is almost always better to start by generating a collection of ideas. Ideas, even impractical or silly, help to crea...

Idea generation software can be useful in electronic brainstorming and creativity tasks. These tools facilitate the generation of a large number of ideas which may result in information overload. Number of ideas, idea diversity, and flow of ideas in an electronic brainstorming session constitute input complexity which results in mental workload and eventually affects group performance. In this ...

The need for computer-supported collaboration has grown over the last years and made collaboration an important factor within organizations. This trend has resulted in the development of a variety of tools and technologies to support the various forms of collaboration. Many collaborative processes, e.g. strategy building, scenario analysis, root cause analysis and requirements engineering, requ...

In a study investigating motivational factors in group brainstorming, we investigated the impact on performance of regulatory fit/nonfit (based on the group’s focus and task strategy). All members of three-person groups were placed in either a promotion focus or a prevention focus and then were all given either an eager strategy or a vigilant strategy for performing a brainstorming task (with a...

The impact of problem-based learning (PBL) in improving academic achievement compared with other forms of teaching is equivocal. This paper argues that poor tutorial preparation and vague reporting of the brainstorming stage of PBL are major contributing factors. To address these issues this study incorporated a scaffolding mechanism into the pre-tutorial brainstorming stage of the PBL process ...