Facilitator Toolkit : Games for Converging

20/20 Vision

Graphic Gameplan

Impact & Effort Matrix

NUF Test

Plus/Delta

Start, Stop, Continue

Who/What/When Matrix

Converging games are not only designed to find the endpoint and define the end goals, but also to create the commitment and alignment that lead to the next step.  Only problems that are well opened and explored will lead to a decisive closing, so if you find your participants are having trouble closing, reconsider the depth to which the problem was opened and explored.  

Objective: 20/20 Vision helps the group achieve clarity on which projects/initiatives/aspects of the problem should become more of a priority than others.

Number of players: 5-10

Duration: 30 minutes to 1.5 hours

How to play:

• Throughout the meeting, collect the proposed projects/initiatives relevant to your participants and write each of them on a Post-it
• Introduce the game, explaining that it’s about prioritization based on perceived benefit and acknowledge the importance of building consensus based on priorities to move the organization/plan forward
• Start by posting an initiative on the wall (random order is best).  Have participants describe it’s benefits and write their descriptions on a Post-it to place beside the initiative.  Repeat this step with each initiative.
• Ask your participants if you’re missing any initiatives and if so, add them to the list and describe their benefits.
• Move into a neighboring wall space, pull down two random initiatives and ask the players to agree on which is more important to the organizations vision or goals.  Post the more important one above the less important.  
• Move another initiative to the new space and ask participants if it is more or less important than the two posted and post it accordingly -- higher priorities at the top, lower priorities at the bottom
• Continue until all ideas have been prioritized

Participants must make the hard decisions in prioritizing.  When it gets tough, remember that the players who resist ranking the most may also be able to offer a wealth of insight into the initiatives, which will ultimately help all participants better refine the final ranking.  

Objective: Ideas never come to fruition without an executable action plan.  This activity will help participants map out how they will get to where they want to go .

Number of players: small groups, but can be done individually

Duration: 30 minutes to 2 hours

How to play:

• Identify the project or projects that participants have decided to move foward with
• On a large space (eg. 4’ x 8’) , draw a picture similar to the following:

• Write the names of the projects to be discussed in the leftmost column
• Have the group identify the timeframe and write the milestones in days, weeks, or months along the top row (or establish a timeline at the end of the activity if you think a timeline will impact the steps people are willing to take)
• The group will choose a project to start with and agree aloud on the first step required to accomplish the project, write the step on a Post-it and post in the first box next to that project
• Have participants identify the second, third, fourth steps, and so on, recording comments on Post-its
• Repeat for every project on the chart
• If participants want to assign tasks to certain individuals, go ahead and write the names of responsible parties to each Post-it.  And feel free to discuss resources needed for each step.

This activity breaks big projects into manageable steps, which can be encouraging for responsible parties.  Also, because it utilizes the minds of the whole group, important steps are less likely to be left out and a thoughtful, strategic approach is more likely to be developed.  

Lead the participants by asking difficult questions and challenging their comments: Does this have to happen first? Can these steps be combined? How are steps related across projects? Do steps in one project affect the progress or outcome of another?  Make sure to document any food for thought.

Objective: Categorizing ideas along the lines of effort to implement and potential impact requires participants to balance and evaluate suggested actions before committing to them.

Number of players: based on small groups, but can scale to any size

Duration: 30 minutes to an hour, depending on group size

How to play:

• Frame the goal in terms of a “What to do” or ‘What we need” question, for example, something as simple as “What do we need to reach our goal?”
• Have participants generate ideas on Post-its, then come together to present their ideas by placing them within a 2x2 matrix organized by:
• Impact: the potential payoff of the action
• Effort: The cost of taking the action
• As participants place their idea, allow other participants to express opinions that may may move the idea’s position on the matrix

Objective: It can be useful to perform a quick reality check on ideas generated during a brainstorming session.  This activity identifies the degree to which an idea is New, Useful, and Feasible.  The goal is to gut check big ideas against the realities they will face after the meeting is over.  

Number of players: small group

Duration of play: 15-30 minutes

How to play:

• Create a matrix of ideas against the criteria
• New: Has the idea been tried before?  New ideas capture attention and possibility
• Useful: Does the idea actually solve the problem?  Does it create any new problems?
• Feasible: Can it be done?  What is the idea’s cost  cost of implementation.  The fewer the resources needed, the better.
• Have the group rate each idea from 1-10 and tally the results for each idea.  Scoring should be done quickly, as a gut check.
• Discussion may uncover uncertainties about an idea.  Or the group can choose to make certain ideas stronger, for example, “How do we make this idea more feasible with fewer resources?”

Objective: This exercise is not aimed at reaching the meeting’s goals, but is designed to generate constructive feedback for you, the facilitator.  

Number of players: Any

Duration: 10-45 minutes

How to Play:

• Draw two columns on a piece of flip-chart paper: label one “plus” and one “delta”
• Ask your participants to reflect on what was positive or repeatable about an activity, capture ideas in the “plus” column
• Ask your participants to reflect on what they would change, writing this information under the “delta” column

By focusing on change as opposed to direct negatives, your participants will be more likely to share their true feelings while providing ideas for improvement.

Objective: To examine aspects of a situation or develop next steps.  This activity is useful for framing discussion at problem-solving meetings or as a good way to work toward an action plan. (Could also work as an emerging activity)

Number of players: 1-10

Duration: 10 minutes to an hour

How to play:

• Ask participants to consider the current situation/goal and individually brainstorm actions in these three categories:
• Start: What are things we need to start doing?
• Stop: What are we currently doing that we can or should stop?
• Continue: What are we doing now that works and should continue?
• Have individuals share their results and record answers on a flip-chart

Objective: Many meetings end with next steps or action items, but when these discussions are abstract and tasks are handed to unwilling participants with no deadline, individuals have the tendency to dodge responsibility.  The Who/What/When matrix directly connects people with clear actions they have defined and have committed to completing by a certain deadline.

Number of players: 1-10

Duration: 15-30 minutes

How to play:

• Create a matrix that outlines WHO / WHAT / WHEN on a flip-chart or whiteboard
• Start the approach with WHO, by putting every participant’s name into the matrix
• Ask each individual to identify concrete next steps they can commit to, placing these steps n the WHAT column.  For each item they identify, ask that person WHEN they will complete the item.

By approaching next steps through a people-first method, it becomes clear that the participants at the meeting are responsible for ongoing work.  Also, by making commitments in front of their peers, participants are more likely to follow through.  And lastly, this is a way to see who is willing to commit to the effort and who has volunteered little or no time.