Whether you’re working on a project as a team or on your own, resist the temptation to just get started—and to do what has always been done. Instead, make and take the time to brainstorm and ideate. Doing this is an important part of the process. Also resist the voice (or voices) that say there isn’t enough time. Do what you can to stretch the deadline if you can. If you can’t do a tiny version of a brainstorm and ideation, do what you can. Your completed project will be better for it.
Getting Started
If you’re collaborating as a team, drag out a white board and some sticky notes and get started. If the team is remote, use an online white board. Adopt a set of group norms that everyone agrees upon. The same norms should guide your work on your own, too.
This is where the fun begins!
- Paint the sky the bluest blue possible (no time constraints, unlimited budget, all of the people and other resources that are needed, etc.).
- There are no rules.
- There is no judgment or critique.
- Limitations and barriers to success don’t exist.
Use the sticky notes to get all ideas and statements out. One per sticky note. Don’t get to solution(s) yet. Just get them all out. Nothing is good or bad. They just are. If you get stuck, start asking questions on the sticky notes, too.
When there are no more sticky note ideas left in anyone’s brains, it is time to work through them using a sort of affinity diagramming way. That means everyone participates in “voting” for what stays and what gets moved to the side (but not tossed out—you just never know!). Then, together, begin to prioritize the remaining sticky notes into whatever groupings that make sense. Maybe some are “how to’s,” while others relate to the business case(s). And still others may relate to the goal(s) and/or leaders’ expectations. Finally, some (many) sticky notes will relate to possible solutions for bringing the learning to the learning population. From here, you’ll determine the best option(s).
This is where the fun begins again!
Make Stuff
It’s time to still your inner critic and start making stuff. You’re likely still not at the final plan. So make lots of stuff. Not all of the stuff will be great—or even good. Make it anyway.
What kinds of stuff? Maybe start compiling business data and documents and organizing the key information (only) into slide decks, job aids, and infographics. Start interviewing subject matter experts (SMEs), taking good notes but also possibly recording them for possible use in the materials later. Maybe some elements could be used in a gamified or lightly competitive way(s). Compile elements and craft instructions for learner projects to complete. Use the input and information gathered from the SMEs to craft scenarios and work-based challenges to overcome in the learning content. And don’t forget to begin crafting the evaluation strategy, too. After all, you’ll want to know whether any of it worked.
Share, Refine, and Test
After you make all the stuff, share the drafts and unfinished materials with others, including SMEs, team members, a select few from the learning population—and possibly all of them. Be open to their feedback and use it to refine, then test again.
To state the obvious, the bigger the learning population and the bigger the project, the higher the stakes and visibility—so you need to get it right. This is why not rushing into a solution without a thorough brainstorming effort and ideation with samples and prototypes matters.
There are approximately a gazillion books, blogs, and Websites that will tell you how to do this “their” way. They are filled with “what to do’s” and “what not to do’s.” But few of them seem to adequately address why to make the time to brainstorm and ideate—in a group and on your own. So blaze your own trail with this. Do what works best for you and your team. But do something. Every time.
