Creative Thinking Tools for Auditors

There are a variety of tools for stimulating creative thinking. The following tools are addressed in this course.

1. SWOT Analysis
2. Brainstorming
3. Decision Trees
4. Scenarios / What If / Break the Rules
5. Describe or Diagram the Problem – Gain Another Perspective
6. Force Field Analysis
7. Idea Quotas and Brainwriting
8. PESTLE Analysis

SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis aids us in applying what we have learned from the past as we evaluate the uncertainties of the future.

Strengths

Retrospectively evaluate what has worked well and identify the organization’s strong points and successes; what has the organization accomplished? Citing strengths in an audit report provides balance and develops rapport with the client.

Weaknesses

Retrospectively evaluate what has NOT worked well and identify the organization’s weaknesses. What aspects of the organization have been unsuccessful, and where resources need to be focused to ensure improvement? Weaknesses lend themselves to being identified as findings in an audit.

Opportunities

Identifying opportunities is forward-thinking, asking “What’s possible?” and “What could lead to success?” It is helpful to identify new technologies, new products, new customers, and changes in legislation.

Threats

Identifying potential harm to the organization is also proactive:

• Loss of stakeholder support
• Lack of resources
• Increased competition
• Deteriorating economic conditions
• Disasters, natural or man-made

The audit report can include recommendations developed by identifying Opportunities (things to pursue) and Threats (things to avoid).

Benefits of SWOT Analysis

• During the project proposal phase, a SWOT analysis can identify potential areas to audit.
• During the survey and planning phases, SWOT analysis can help narrow the areas for focus.
• During the fieldwork phase, SWOT analysis can help fine-tune potential recommendations.

Force Field Analysis

Force Field Analysis, as developed by Kurt Lewin, is a mechanism to describe how change occurs. We may often ask, “How does a situation move from ‘point A’ to ‘point B’?” By identifying factors that push us toward change (“driving forces”) or inhibit change (“restraining forces”), we can gain a better understanding of how change occurs.

This technique encourages creative thinking and allows us to review all the imaginable aspects surrounding a desired change (for example, “losing weight”). By examining the results, we can determine whether the desired change is best accomplished by increasing the driving forces or reducing the restraining forces.

Idea Generation Tools

“The need to be right all of the time is the biggest barrier to new ideas. It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than always be right by having no ideas at all.” — Edward de Bono

Creative thinking involves gathering as many ideas as possible without judging whether they are “good” or “bad.” It is okay if some ideas are not as strong as others, as more ideas tend to spark even more ideas.

“If at first the idea is not absurd, there’s no hope for it. Problems cannot be solved by thinking within the framework in which the problems were created.” — Albert Einstein

There are a number of idea-generation techniques. We cover the following techniques, which are especially useful for auditors:

• Idea Quotas
• Brainwriting
• Wall Writing
• Brainstorming

Idea Quotas

Stretch yourself to gather as many ideas as possible.

• Set a quota: a target number of ideas
• Generate enough ideas to meet the quota
• If the quota feels too easy, increase it
• Prioritize and implement

Brainwriting

In Brainwriting, team members share their ideas in silence, unlike Brainstorming, where ideas are exchanged verbally. Group members write down their ideas on paper, then pass them along for others to review and build upon. Allowing individuals to thoughtfully reflect on written ideas can enhance participation, especially in settings where some team members may be less comfortable speaking up.

A popular version of this technique is called Brainwriting 6-3-5. The numbers refer to a team of six people, each generating three ideas per round, with five minutes allotted for each round of idea generation.

Wall Writing

A variation of Brainwriting is Wall Writing. Here, team members do the following:

• Write their ideas on sticky notes, one idea per note.
• Post the sticky notes on a wall or flip chart paper.
• Sort the sticky note ideas into categories. (Critical thinking tools for doing this are presented in Module 4.)

The key advantage of this technique is that it makes it easier to sort ideas into categories, which can be the first step in prioritizing and selecting the best ideas.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a popular method of idea generation that encourages group members to verbally share ideas free of criticism. In classic brainstorming, each person gives an idea in turn or may pass until the next round. This structure can create a sense of productive pressure, often motivating participation even from quieter team members. Teamwork is stimulated, ideas can be built upon, and the process often produces waves of increasingly strong ideas.

The basic guidelines are as follows:

• Everyone agrees on the problem or issue being brainstormed. Write it visibly on a flip chart or other surface.
• Record every idea exactly as stated. Do not interpret or rephrase.
• Treat all ideas as having equal value; no judgment or criticism.
• Move quickly, but don’t stop when the flow slows. A brief pause may spark new ideas.

Step-by-Step Process

1. Identify the team members who will participate in the session.
2. Convene the team and clarify the ground rules.
3. Define and agree on the problem or issue.
4. Team members, in turn, verbally offer ideas.
5. Delete duplicate ideas and, if necessary, rewrite vague ideas for clarity.