Brain-netting: brainstorm online

A new project is coming up, and you absolutely must bring your team together to work on the subject. Yes, but here it is, your collaborators are spread out geographically or by telecommuting, and you cannot manage to bring them all together in the same place at the same time, if not at great expense. Don’t torture your mind anymore … organize a Brain-netting!

What is Brain-netting?

Many managers now lead virtual teams, some of whom — sometimes all — are geographically distant.

Also called online brainstorming-brain-netting is a collective thinking technique carried out in a dematerialized way using shared digital tools.

This is particularly interesting when you want to conduct a group reflection, and it is difficult to physically bring all the participants together in one place at the same time.

Principle

The method consists in bringing together virtually — via the Internet — different participants in a collective brainstorming session. Via a dedicated collaborative tool, everyone can share their ideas/solutions and exchange in real-time — or delayed — with the other members of the group from their device — smartphone, tablet, computer.

The idea is that this virtual brainstorming takes place as a classic collective brainstorming workshop, except that all the participants are not physically together.

Everyone thinks for themselves and then shares their thoughts on a collaborative medium. Contributions are generally anonymous so that everyone is actively involved.

Application fields

Remote brainstorming is particularly interesting in the following situations:

• Employees in telework
• Part-time employees who do not overlap with each other
• Collaborators spread geographically
• A large number of participants divided into sub-groups and divided into several rooms

and with the following objectives:

• Problems solving
• Innovation
• Decision making
• Marketing
• Communication
• Strategy

Advantages and limitations

The approach has particular interests, such as:

• The anonymity of posts (optional) pushes participants to be more active and creative
• Possibility for geographically dispersed teams to reflect more easily collectively
• Time saving and cost of organizing meetings for scattered teams
• Possibility for participants to post at different time

However, it has certain limits:

• When participants have to think about the same time, it can be challenging to find the timing suitable for all (time differences, full/part-time, connection difficulties related to geographic location, e.g.)
• Problems related to the compatibility between the software/applications used and the hardware of the participants (Mac / PC in particular)
• Difficulties related to the use of the software or application used (more or less long training depending on user profiles)
• Difficult to organize as part of an urgent reflection
• The efficiency of thinking linked to the manager/facilitator

Tools

The range of solutions available is extensive, as is the budget. Each will choose the most suitable according to the number of users, the frequency of use, the technology envisaged, and the environment required. Overall, there are four main types of support:

• Mail
• Video/call conferences
• Online collaborative solutions
• More or less complicated, more or less expensive dedicated software/applications. Some include handy templates for project management, such as schedules, business plans, prioritization matrices, e.g.

Organize a brain-netting workshop

Overall, this brainstorming type takes place in the same way as the more “classic” version, except that all the participants reflect from different places from each other.

The idea is to create emulation and encourage proposals for purposes without limiting creativity. The instigator of the workshop, therefore, has a predominant role in the dynamic animation of the group and the fluidity of the exchanges.

Upstream of the workshop, the organizer will take care to define a date and a schedule for the start of the session and share this information, as well as the theme to be worked on, with all the participants. He will ensure that everyone has received this information by asking, for example, a confirmation of attendance.

1. Choose the right tool

• Choose the most suitable software/application in advance. Budget, technology, ergonomics, functionality, compatibility, e.g. are here to take into consideration to make the right choice.

2. Familiarize the team with the process

• Train the team beforehand on the technical solution used. Indeed, it is essential that all participants are comfortable with the software and can, therefore, focus on the theme of the workshop. Besides, the notes, figures, and other documents necessary for the meeting must be easily accessible and shareable by all.
• It is crucial to make sure that everyone has enough skills to use it effectively.

3. Start brainstorming

• Formulate precisely the objective of the brainstorming session and ensure that all participants have understood and integrated it.
• State the rules (spontaneity; absence of judgment and/or criticism at first, the quantity of ideas taking precedence over quality; the progress of brain-netting …) as well as the time allowed — or the end date of the proposals in the case of an offset brain-netting.
• Encourage the production of ideas/solutions like a classic brainstorming and run the workshop according to the planning and timing defined beforehand.
• To do this, the facilitator can ask a question to which all participants respond, as well as any additional questions that may arise from this response (details, example, e.g.). The discussion can continue based on the answers given or around other related questions.

4. Classify and select ideas

• According to the options available on the online brainstorming interface and the rules defined by the group, the ranking is done as it could be done during a classic brainstorming: by affinities, main axes of ideas, e.g. in columns, by groups of virtual sticky notes, on a virtual flipchart …
• Reflection and discussions continue according to the group’s operating rules (prioritization, analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of each of the proposals, vote, e.g.) until the idea or solution to the problem is worked out and put in place an action plan.