Which stage of gap analysis involves brainstorming to find gaps?

Divergent thinking is a crucial stage in gap analysis that focuses on generating a wide array of ideas and potential gaps in a current situation. This stage encourages creativity and open-mindedness, allowing participants to explore various possibilities without the immediate constraint to evaluate or judge the ideas being generated. During brainstorming sessions, team members are encouraged to share their thoughts freely, which can lead to identifying gaps between the current state and the desired outcomes.

In contrast, other stages like current situation investigation typically involve gathering and analyzing existing data to understand the present state, while convergent thinking is about narrowing down options to select the best possible solutions or ideas from those generated. Consensus production focuses on reaching an agreement among team members, which comes after the creative exploration of ideas has already taken place. Therefore, divergent thinking is fundamentally aligned with the brainstorming process, making it the correct answer in the context of identifying gaps during gap analysis.