Gallery method

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The Gallery method is a mixture of physical and mental activity whilst generating ideas. The participants move past the ideas (as in an art gallery) rather than the ideas moving past the participants (as in the Pin-Card Technique ). The down side of this method, no anonymity is offered for idea generation and there is a risk of competition between participants during the break and view

  1. Position flip chart paper round the room, with the problem statement displayed so everyone can see it (groups should be between 5-7 people). The statement should be discussed briefly for clarification.
  2. Each group member chooses a sheet and privately writes ideas onto it (they can write directly onto the sheets, or on post-its and stick these on the flip-charts). The writing should be large, clear and concise to enable other to read it easily.
  3. When the group appears to be running low on ideas, they should be encouraged to take a break, walk around the room viewing ideas on the other flip charts and making notes. All participants should have the break at the same time, so that certain members of the groups do not feel that others are looking over their shoulder whilst they are still generating ideas.
  4. Participants return to their own work areas and continue generating their own ideas or building on the ideas of others.
  5. When the group appears to be running low on ideas again, repeat steps 3 and 4 or else close the idea-generating phase.

Ideas are then pooled together, sorted, classified, etc… as you require.