Starbursting: A Brainstorming Technique

So you've done some brainstorming with your team and you've got a bunch of ideas for a new product.

Everyone's excited and you're ready to get developing. But wait! Are you sure that the idea is what you really need? How confident are you that it's actually going to work?

You need to ask more questions. You need to Starburst.

Starbursting is a form of brainstorming where you generate more questions, rather than looking for answers and solutions.

Starbursting helps you test and challenge your assumptions, making your ideas more likely to succeed.

Here's how it works:

Draw a six-pointed star and write down your idea in the center. On each point, write one of the following questions.

• Who?
• What?
• How?
• When?
• Where?
• And, why?

Now, imagine that your team has come up with a new design for some ice-skating boots. You're excited about it, but want to make sure that the design will really work. This is where Starbursting comes in.

Come up with as many questions as possible for each point of the star and write them down in the corresponding point. For example, why would people want this skate? Who is it for? What color should it be? How much should it retail for? Where will we get them made? When do we need to make the final decision?

Once you've got your questions, work through each of them in turn as a team. This will highlight any potential issues you might encounter before they become a problem. If you've got satisfactory answers to all the questions or know that you will at some point in the future, it's time to get your idea off the ground.