ThinkLet Name: OnePage
Intent: Generate a set of contributions and share them by using a public storage place:
• all participants generate contributions in parallel on one topic.
• all participants add contributions to a public storage space.
• all participants share contributions by using the same public storage place.
Context: Choose this thinkLet:
• to generate less than 80 contributions on one topic.
• when 5 or fewer participants will generate contributions to-gether.
• when 6 or more participants will generate contributions together for fewer than 10 minutes.
• to support back-channel communication among distributed par-ticipants.
Do not choose this thinkLet:
• to generate more than 80 contributions on one topic.
• to generate contributions on more than one topic at a time.
• when 6 or more participants will generate contributions together until they run out of ideas.
Solution Input:
• a topic
• a defined contribution specification Output:
• a set of contributions in response to one topic and a defined contribution specification
Setup:
1. Ensure that the participants understand the collaborative pro-cess.
2. Ensure that participants understand the topic.
3. Ensure that participants understand the contribution specifica-tion.
Process:
1. Provide a single public storage space for all contributions.
2. Let participants add in parallel any number of contributions to the shared public storage space.
3. Let participants add only contributions that match the topic.
4. Let participants add only contributions that match the contribu-tion specificacontribu-tion.
5. Let participants read the contributions of others for inspiration.
ThinkLet Name: FreeBrainstorm
Intent: Generate a set of contributions and share them by randomly swapping private storage places:
• each participant generates one contribution in parallel on a com-mon topic or one topic of a topic list.
• each participant adds one contribution to a private storage space.
• all participants share contributions by randomly swapping pri-vate storage places.
Context: Choose this thinkLet:
• when 6 or more participants will generate contributions together until they run out of ideas.
• to make participants with narrow, parochial views quickly to see the big picture.
• to make the group to diverge quickly from comfortable patterns of thinking, to push them farther and farther afield in search of new ideas.
Do not choose this thinkLet:
• if you are pushing for depth rather than breadth in the resulting contributions.
• when 5 or fewer participants will generate contributions to-gether until they run out of ideas.
Solution: Input:
• a topic / topic list
• a defined contribution specification Output:
• a set of contributions in response to a topic / topic list and a defined contribution specification
Setup:
1. Ensure that the participants understand the collaborative pro-cess.
2. Ensure that participants understand the topic / topic list 3. Ensure that participants understand the contribution
specifica-tion.
Process:
1. Provide for each participant a private storage place for contribu-tions of a common topic or one topic of a topic list.
2. Let participants add in parallel one contribution to the private storage place they received.
3. Let participants add only contributions that match the topic of the private storage place they are working on.
4. Let participants add only contributions that match the contribu-tion specificacontribu-tion.
5. Let participants randomly swap private storage places.
6. Let participants read the contributions of others for inspiration.
7. (Repeat starting with step 2)
ThinkLet Name: LeafHopper
Intent: Generate a set of contributions and share them by swapping private stor-age places in response to a participant choice:
• each participant generates contributions in parallel on one topic of a topic list.
• each participant adds contributions to a private storage space.
• all participants share contributions by swapping private storage places.
Context: Choose this thinkLet:
• to generate contributions on several topics at once.
• when participants have different levels of interest or expertise in the different topics.
• when it is not important to assure that every participant con-tributes to every topic.
Do not choose this thinkLet:
• when it is important to assure that the participants address topics in a specific order.
• when it is important to assure that every participant contributes to every topic.
Solution: Input:
• a topic list
• a defined contribution specification Output:
• a set of contributions in response to a topic list and a defined contribution specification
Setup:
1. Ensure that the participants understand the collaborative pro-cess.
2. Ensure that participants understand the topic list.
3. Ensure that participants understand the contribution specifica-tion.
Process:
1. Provide for each topic of the topic list a private storage place for contributions.
2. Let participants choose the private storage place to which they will contribute.
3. Let participants add in parallel any number of contributions to the private storage place they chose.
4. Let participants add only contributions that match the topic of the private storage place they are working on.
5. Let participants add only contributions that match the contribu-tion specificacontribu-tion.
6. Let participants change private storage place as interest and in-spiration dictate.
7. Let participants read the contributions of others for inspiration.
8. (Repeat starting with step 3)
thinkLet BranchBuilder
Intent: Generate a hierarchically organized set of contributions and share them by swapping private storage places in response to a participant choice:
• each participant generates contributions or subcontributions in parallel on one topic of a topic list.
• each participant adds contributions and subcontributions hierar-chically to a private storage space.
• all participants share contributions and subcontributions by swapping private storage places.
Context: Choose this thinkLet:
• to capture and organize subaspects of one or more well-understood issues.
• to build a hierarchical outline describing the anatomy of an issue or topic.
Do not choose this thinkLet:
• with poorly-understood, complex, ill structured issues.
Solution: Input:
• a topic list
• a defined contribution specification Output:
• a set of contributions in response to a topic list and a defined contribution specification
Setup:
1. Ensure that the participants understand the collaborative pro-cess.
2. Ensure that participants understand the topic list.
3. Ensure that participants understand the contribution specifica-tion.
Process:
1. Provide for each topic of the topic list a private storage place for contributions.
2. Let participants choose the private storage place to which they will contribute.
3. Let participants add in parallel any number of contributions or subcontributions to the private storage place they chose.
4. Let participants add only contributions that match the topic of the private storage place they are working on.
5. Let participants add only subcontributions that match the se-lected contribution of the private storage place they are working on.
6. Let participants add only contributions that match the contribu-tion specificacontribu-tion.
7. Let participants change the private storage place as interest and inspiration dictate.
8. Let participants read the contributions and subcontributions of others for inspiration.
9. (Repeat starting with step 3)