Reverse Brainstorming Template
Reverse your thinking in order to find the solution to a problem.
Trusted by 65M+ users and leading companies
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.
Brand Strategy Template
Works best for:
Marketing
Develop a brand strategy for new and existing brands with this fully guided Brand Strategy Template. Find new ways to build your brand and set your business up for success.
Lotus Diagram Template
Works best for:
UX Design, Ideation, Diagrams
Even creative thinkers occasionally need help getting their creative juices flowing. That's where a lotus diagram comes in. It'll empower you to run smoother, more effective brainstorming sessions. This creative-thinking technique explores ideas by putting the main idea at the diagram center and ancillary concepts in the surrounding boxes. This template gives you an easy way to create Lotus Diagrams for brainstorms, as well as an infinite canvas for the endless ideas generated.
Cynefin Framework Template
Works best for:
Leadership, Decision Making, Prioritization
Companies face a range of complex problems. At times, these problems leave the decision makers unsure where to even begin or what questions to ask. The Cynefin Framework, developed by Dave Snowden at IBM in 1999, can help you navigate those problems and find the appropriate response. Many organizations use this powerful, flexible framework to aid them during product development, marketing plans, and organizational strategy, or when faced with a crisis. This template is also ideal for training new hires on how to react to such an event.
Affinity Diagram Template
Works best for:
Desk Research, Mapping, Product Management
You can use an affinity diagram to generate, organize, and consolidate information that comes out of a brainstorming session. Whether you’re building a product, working through a complex problem, establishing a process, or piecing apart an issue, an affinity diagram is a useful and simple framework that gives each team member the opportunity to pitch in and share their thoughts. But it’s not just ideal for brainstorms—this is a great template and tool when you need to reach consensus or analyze data such as survey results.
Customer Problem Statement Template
Works best for:
Ideation, Design Thinking, Product Management
Put yourself in the shoes of your consumers with a customer problem statement. Figure out their problems and how your product or service can solve those problems and make their lives easier. As a bonus, you’ll better understand your customers throughout the process.
Daily Stand-up Meeting Template
Works best for:
Agile Methodology, Meetings, Software Development
The entire team meets to review the day before and discuss the day ahead. These daily meetings, also known as “scrums,” are brief but powerful — they identify roadblocks, give each team member a voice, foster collaboration, keep progress on track, and ultimately keep teams working together effectively. This template makes it so easy for you to plan daily standups for your sprint team. It all starts with picking a date and time, creating an agenda, and sticking with the same format throughout the sprint.