“What If” Brainstorm

When to use it

Use it when a group keeps proposing slightly different versions of the same answer or dismisses ideas before understanding the assumption behind them.

How to use it

1. State the problem in terms of a user’s need or a concrete difficulty. Keep blame out of the sentence so the group can explore the arrangement rather than defend its members.

2. List the supposed rules behind the current approach. Look for phrases such as must start here, has to be large or cannot go backward. Separate actual safety requirements from choices someone simply made earlier.

3. Turn each assumption into a question beginning with what if. Ask what happens if the sequence changes, the message moves or someone can preview an activity before beginning it.

4. Agree on a short idea round. Write or sketch contributions without interrupting each with criticism. Unusual suggestions are possibilities on paper, not authorization to do something unsafe or unapproved.

5. Begin a separate review round. Check facts, permission, safety, usefulness, cost and available time. Note why an idea does not fit rather than erasing every rejected idea; different constraints may suggest different revisions.

6. Combine useful pieces into one manageable possibility. Name a question the next prototype should answer. Keep the creative record so the team can return to it when new information changes the limits.

A worked example

A practical illustration of the method.

A book-finding game assumes everyone must start at the same card and never return to an earlier choice. A brainstorm asks whether players could choose a doorway and try another path. A fully branching game is too large for the available space, but the group keeps a small return arrow and two choices per step. It tests the beginning on scrap paper before decorating the entire game.

Use it thoughtfully

Delaying criticism does not suspend real safety boundaries or create permission to act.

Do not use the review round to ridicule the person who offered a discarded idea.

Check a promising idea’s factual content even when the group loves its appearance.

Keep exploring