Lotus Blossom

What is this technique about

The Lotus Blossom Technique is a structured brainstorming exercise used to expand on a central idea or problem.

The Lotus Blossom technique is designed for groups and provides a systematic look at a variety of solutions to a problem. Starting with a core idea the participants come up with additional ideas and solutions that surround the core. Each of these solutions will become the core part for the next round.

Where does it come from 

The Lotus Blossom Technique was originally developed in Japan by Yasuo Matsumura, director of the Clover Management Research. It aims at finding the roots of a certain problem by “peeling” the layers of the core issues. It enables the participants to see a holistic connection between the relevant elements and can be used for scenario planning and strategy forecasts.

For which purposes it is used (why in your engineering teaching)

The Lotus Blossom Technique allows ideas and applications to be connected to the core theme. By incrementally filling out the themes and subthemes a picture of relationships evolves. All parts are dynamic and can be connected potentially leading to novel interrelations.

You start by defining a central subject. This is then divided into themes and sub-themes with separate entry points. Around the core subject evolve more and more circles that have to be explored. 

How to use it

Execution:

1. 1. The central idea/concept is developed by the facilitator and the participants, They document it on a large flipchart or the like for every participant to see.
   2. By brainstorming the group tries to come up with up to eight significant characteristics or attributes of the core topic. These are called sub-ideas and will be explored later. The initial topic is called the ‘Lotus Blossom’ diagram and serves as the basis while the sub-ideas are ‘seeds’ for more Lotus Blossoms.
   3. The sub-ideas become the new central idea and the process is repeated for all generated sub-ideas.
   4. All the Lotus Blossom diagrams are created and should be used as topics to further discuss and analyse.
   5. You can print or draw a Lotus Blossom diagram on a Wall chart.
   6. Ideas that have been developed or evolved can now be pinned to the specific part of the Lotus Blossom diagram to finalize the diagram and show potential areas of interest for further analysis and application.

Hints from experience: The optimal number of themes is between 6 and 8. If they become to numerous you should ask questions in order to classify upcoming themes into existing ones. Further, try to prioritize ideas during the process by using coloured markers/post its etc.