Reverse Brainstorming Template
Reverse your thinking in order to find the solution to a problem.
About the Reverse Brainstorming Template
Reverse brainstorming is a creative problem-solving technique that involves thinking about a problem in reverse order. Instead of starting with the question, "How do we solve or improve this?" reverse brainstorming asks, "How could we possibly cause the problem or make it worse?"
This approach is used to stimulate new ideas and perspectives that might not emerge during traditional brainstorming sessions.
How to use the reverse brainstorming template
Reverse brainstorming is particularly useful when traditional brainstorming is not yielding effective solutions, or when a team is facing a mental block. Miro's reverse brainstorming template is easy to use and encourages thinking outside the box.
Follow these steps to get started with the template:
1. Identify the problem
In the first box, clearly define the problem or challenge you are facing. Describe it in a sentence or two and make sure it is clear to everyone involved in the brainstorming session.
2. Reverse the problem
In the box below, write down what the reverse of the problem would look like. For example, if the problem your team is trying to solve for involves "how to make a smartphone app more user-friendly," the reverse could be "how to create a complicated user interface for an app."
3. Collect ideas
Ask your team to generate ideas around ways in which the problem could get worse. There are no bad ideas here — jot down any ways that the problem could be exacerbated. This might involve considering actions that would lead to the opposite of your desired outcome.
To continue with the above example, some ideas could be:
Make the app interface confusing and hard to navigate
Introduce frequent, intrusive advertisements
Slow down the app’s performance with unnecessary features
4. Reverse the ideas to find solutions
By now, you have several reverse ideas. Discuss them and reverse them again, this time into solutions to those problems. This step involves looking at the reverse brainstorming results and thinking about how to avoid or counteract these negative scenarios.
For example:
Design a clean, intuitive, and user-friendly interface
Minimize or strategically place advertisements to avoid user frustration
Optimize the app’s performance for speed and reliability
5. Evaluate the solutions
Now is the time to evaluate which ideas are feasible. Use the final box of the template to discuss how these solutions could be implemented, and prioritize which ideas to start working on first.
When to use the reverse brainstorming template
Reverse brainstorming is a great method to use in several scenarios. For example, when teams are having trouble coming up with ideas, reverse brainstorming can jolt the team out of conventional thinking patterns and help generate new perspectives.
Reverse brainstorming is also particularly useful for risk management and mitigation. By considering how things could go wrong or how a situation could deteriorate, teams can better prepare for potential risks and devise strategies to mitigate them.
No matter the problem you are trying to solve, Miro's virtual canvas is a great tool for your brainstorm — and the reverse brainstorming template is a handy way for teams to address complex, stubborn, or challenging issues.
Get started with this template right now.
AWS Git to S3 Webhooks Template
Works best for:
Software Development, Diagrams
The AWS Git to S3 Webhooks Template is a visual representation of Git webhooks with AWS services Quick Start architecture. You can now have an overview of your AWS architecture with Miro’s AWS Git to S3 Webhooks Template, track your cloud solutions easily, and optimize processes like never before.
Crazy Eights Template
Works best for:
Design Thinking, Brainstorming, Ideation
Sometimes you just need to get the team’s creative juices flowing for a brainstorm—and get them thinking of as many ideas as they can, as fast as they can. Crazy Eights will do it in a hurry. Favoring quantity over quality, this sketch brainstorming exercise challenges them to come up with eight ideas in eight minutes, which leaves no time to second guess ideas. It’s perfect for early stages of development, and it’s a team favorite for being fast paced and fun.
Lesson Reflection Template
Works best for:
Education, Meetings
The Lesson Reflection template is a tool to create space for self-reflection and improvement. Students can evaluate the key takeaways from a lesson and what are the topics they find most interesting. As teachers receive the student’s Lesson Reflection, they can look for opportunities to improve learning and teaching methodologies. The Lesson Reflection template can help you facilitate the educational process, and it’s easy to use and straightforward.
SAFe Roam Board
Works best for:
Agile Methodology, Operations, Agile Workflows
A SAFe ROAM Board is a framework for making risks visible. It gives you and your team a shared space to notice and highlight risks, so they don’t get ignored. The ROAM Board helps everyone consider the likelihood and impact of risks, and decide which risks are low priority versus high priority. The underlying principles of SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) are: drive cost-effective solutions, apply systems thinking, assume that things will change, build incrementally, base milestones on evaluating working systems, and visualize and limit works in progress.
Kudos Template
Works best for:
Team management
The Kudos Template boosts team morale by providing a structured platform for team members to recognize and celebrate achievements. It fosters a positive environment of appreciation, respect, and unity.
Idea Funnel Backlog
Works best for:
Design, Brainstorming, Agile Workflows
An Idea Funnel Backlog enables you to visualize your backlog and restrict the number of backlogged items at the top. In doing sos, you can prioritize items on your list without having to engage in unnecessary meetings or create too much operational overhead. To use the Idea Funnel Backlog, break up the funnel into different phases or treat it like a roadmap. Use the Idea Funnel Backlog as a hybrid model that combines your roadmap and backlog into one easily digestible format.