Gayle Curtis, Design Consultant at BayCHI, December 8, 2009: A design thinking approach to product development gives us a place to start and a way to proceed with problems that are tricky and ill-defined. It can help tame their complexity and uncover innovative solutions. At the heart of this approach is ideation, the capacity for generating ideas and entertaining alternatives, which we most often practice in brainstorming sessions. In this talk we will look at the background, values and techniques of brainstorming and how to structure effective brainstorm sessions. We will also look at the ways group brainstorms can enhance team performance and serve as the sparkplug for an innovation pipeline.