Map 1
Your Challenge
  Who?
  What?
  When?
  Where?
  Why?
  How?
  INSTRUCTIONS
This creativity technique appears to be very simple at first glance: Ask yourself open-ended questions about your creative challenge that begin with the words Who, What, When, Why, Where and How. But don't let appearances fool you. This brainstorming technique packs a punch!
Why? Because most of us are habitually programmed to ask ourselves questions that have binary answers: Yes/no, go/stay, implement now/wait, etc. Binary questions have only two possible answers and they're often opposites of each other.
Open-ended questions ensure open-ended answers. They invite us to explore the gray areas of our thinking. As these questions help you surface insights about your challenge, record them in this mind map. When you start to run out of ideas, convert the questions to "What ELSE?," "Who else?" etc.
Keep going as long as you can. Then step back and look at all of the insights you've captured. What ideas do they suggest. Capture them in this mind map, too!
Happy idea hunting!
Chuck Frey
Visual Velocity
(formerly the Mind Mapping Software Blog)
mindmappingsoftwareblog.com
chuck@chuckfrey.com