FROM DILIP MUKERJEA'S ITINERANT TOOLBOX: STORYBOARDING, THE DISNEY METHODOLOGY

[continued from the Last Post.]

The Dot Voting Method of Storyboarding

The structure of this storyboard is a little different from the ones shown earlier. The logic replicates that of a Mind Map, and the procedure is as follows:

1. Assemble the group of people acting as problembusters.

2. Write the challenge, issue, situation, or problem on a large board, card, or sheet of paper. This is called ‘The Topic Card’ (equivalent to the central image on a Mind Map).

3. Address the challenge with one brief but concise observation per storyboard panel. You can complete as many panels as you wish. Remember the Laws of Brainstorming: particularly, suspend judgment, until the very end.

4. Eventually, after say, a fixed time limit, sort out all the panels that have been completed. From this outpouring of ideas, determine a set of major categories ~ these panels are called ‘Header Cards’ for each category (equivalent to the main branches of a Mind Map).

5. All the remaining cards are to be arranged under their respective categories ~ these cards are called ‘Categorised Detail Cards’ (equivalent to levels that expand beyond the main branches of Mind Maps).

6. Give each participant an equal amount of Priority Voting Dots; they could be of two colours, red and blue, for example. The red ones are fixed to the ‘Header Cards.’

The ‘Detail Cards’ receive the blue ones.

Voting is purely democratic and no pressure must be applied to anyone about having to lean one way or another. (If the Voting Dots are too expensive, simply use coloured markers, and draw red or blue circles ~ once again, the quota is fixed for everyone.)

7. The panels with the most dots should stand out as the ones where greatest emphasis is being placed. We would need to pay particular attention in these areas.

This ‘idea landscape’ or ‘mindscape’ is like building a house, entailing a logical progression.

The technique works because of the high level of participation, the guarantee of anonymity, and the speed of idea generation.

The internal workings of an organisation can be dramatically improved when this technique is incorporated into its routine procedures. The integration of storyboarding into activities such as planning, communication, idea generation, and organisational development leads to operational excellence.

No matter what the application, the role of this technique is vital in nurturing creative, as well as critical, thinking.

The next post summarises the various applications of this methodology.

[To be continued in the Next Post. Excerpted from 'Surfing the Intellect: Building Intellectual Capital for a Knowledge Economy', by Dilip Mukerjea. All images in this post are the intellectual property of Dilip Mukerjea.]