Use when you need to generate many creative options before systematically narrowing to the best choices...
Three phases: Diverge (generate many ideas without judgment), Cluster (group into themes), Converge (evaluate against criteria and select).
Quick Example:
# Problem: How to improve customer onboarding?
## Diverge (30 ideas)
- In-app video tutorials
- Interactive walkthroughs
- Email drip campaign
- Live webinar onboarding
- 1-on-1 concierge calls
- ... (25 more ideas)
## Cluster (6 themes)
1. **Self-serve content** (videos, docs, tooltips)
2. **Interactive guidance** (walkthroughs, checklists)
3. **Human touch** (calls, webinars, chat)
4. **Motivation** (gamification, progress tracking)
5. **Timing** (just-in-time help, preemptive)
6. **Social** (community, peer examples)
## Converge (Top 3)
1. Interactive walkthrough (high impact, medium effort) - 8.5/10
2. Email drip campaign (medium impact, low effort) - 8.0/10
3. Just-in-time tooltips (medium impact, low effort) - 7.5/10
Copy this checklist and track your progress:
Brainstorm Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Gather requirements
- [ ] Step 2: Diverge (generate ideas)
- [ ] Step 3: Cluster (group themes)
- [ ] Step 4: Converge (evaluate and select)
- [ ] Step 5: Document and validate
Step 1: Gather requirements
Clarify topic/problem (what are you brainstorming?), goal (what decision will this inform?), constraints (must-haves, no-gos, boundaries), evaluation criteria (what makes an idea "good" - impact, feasibility, cost, speed, risk, alignment), target quantity (suggest 20-50 ideas), and rounds (single session or multiple rounds, default: 1).
Step 2: Diverge (generate ideas)
Generate 20-50 ideas without judgment or filtering. Suspend criticism (all ideas valid during divergence), aim for quantity and variety (different types, scales, approaches), and use creative prompts: "What if unlimited resources?", "What would competitor do?", "Simplest approach?", "Most ambitious?", "Unconventional alternatives?". Output: Numbered list of raw ideas. For simple topics → generate directly. For complex topics → Use resources/template.md for structured prompts.
Step 3: Cluster (group themes)
Organize ideas into 4-8 distinct clusters by identifying patterns, creating categories (mechanism, user/audience, timeline, effort, risk, strategic objective), naming clusters clearly, and checking coverage (distinct approaches). Fewer than 4 = not enough variety, more than 8 = too fragmented. Output: Ideas grouped under cluster labels.
Step 4: Converge (evaluate and select)
Define criteria (from step 1), score ideas on criteria (1-10 or Low/Med/High scale), rank by total/weighted score, select top 3-5 options, and document tradeoffs (why chosen, what deprioritized). Evaluation patterns: Impact/Effort matrix, weighted scoring, must-have filtering, pairwise comparison. See Common Patterns for domain-specific approaches.
Step 5: Document and validate
Create brainstorm-diverge-converge.md with: problem statement, diverge (full list), cluster (organized themes), converge (scored/ranked/selected), and next steps. Validate using resources/evaluators/rubric_brainstorm_diverge_converge.json: verify 20+ ideas with variety, distinct clusters, explicit criteria, consistent scoring, top selections clearly better, actionable next steps. Minimum standard: Score ≥ 3.5.
For product/feature ideation:
For problem-solving:
For research questions:
For strategic planning:
Do:
Don't:
resources/template.md - Structured prompts and techniques for diverge-cluster-convergeresources/evaluators/rubric_brainstorm_diverge_converge.jsonbrainstorm-diverge-converge.md