Also called: Project timeline
Alternative plays: Future-Back Planning, Golden Path, Priority Mapping
Follow-up plays: Dependency Mapping, Golden Path, Prune the Product Tree
Timing: Planning
Run time
30-60 minutes
Group size
2-10
Why: Use the power of the group to mitigate potential risks, align on expectations and to ensure commitment
When: When a team embarks on a new endeavor
This workshop exercise is part of the Workshop Patterns printed card deck.
A collection of workshop exercises that will help you ditch dull meetings and facilitate with confidence. It will help you master the design process and have more productive time with your team. The card deck will be ready for purchase in the end of 2023 and is now undergoing rigorous testing.
Reserve your deck!Instructions for running this play
- Draw the time axis. Begin by drawing a large horizontal arrow on a whiteboard. Label the left end as “Now” and the right end as “Future”. This arrow will serve as your project timeline.
- Brainstorm tasks, goals, and milestones. Ask each participant to write down tasks, goals, or milestones on sticky notes. Each note should represent one item.
- Plot items. Have each participant place their sticky notes on the timeline, based on when they believe the task should be started and completed. The nearer tasks will be placed closer to the “Now” end, and the distant tasks closer to the “Future” end.
- Discuss and Refine. As a group, discuss the placement of each note. Adjust the positions as needed based on team input, availability, dependencies, and resource allocation. Work backwards from the future toward now for complex items, adding potential stepping stones.
- Assign Responsibilities (optional). Next to each task on the timeline, write the initials of the team member who will be responsible for it. This helps in clearly defining roles and responsibilities.