Brainstorming after kickoff

[ColleenShaver]

We were having a discussion the other day about modifying (read: improving) the way our team typically handles the brainstorming process for the initial design of their robots.

So I was wondering, what kinds of ways do your teams do brainstorming? Do you focus on mechanical designs or strategy for playing the game? Do you differentiate? Do you do it as a large group, split into smaller groups, as individuals? How long do you spend on this process? etc..

This is probably a situation where we could all learn and improve from one another's experiences about what works, what doesn't, and new things worth giving a try.