Workshop Exercises: Goals

Dependency Mapping

Prevent upstream bottlenecks and unintended downstream effects

Alternative plays: Impact Mapping, Opportunity Solution Tree Mapping

Follow-up plays: Golden Path

Timing: Planning

Prep time
5 minutes

Run time
60 minutes

Group size
2-20

Why: Your work does not happen in isolation – understand what could potentially impact your success

When: When a team embarks on a new endeavor

Instructions for running this play

Introduce the exercise. Explain the importance of identifying how your work impacts different systems, potential risks, and creating an action plan. Outline each step of the exercise.
Identify impacted systems. Ask participants to list all systems affected by your project while you as a facilitator lists them on a whiteboard. For each system, specify:
- Who is the owner – who is responsible?
- Type of Impact – how does your work influence this system?
- Characteristics of impact – list details relevant to build a shared understanding among team members and stakeholders.
Outline potential risks. Conduct a 5 minute Silent Storming, asking participants to list potential risks. Have them Playback each one and Dot Vote on the most critical.
Share, agree, and document the top risks in with the following information:
- Risk Level - High, medium, or low.
- Mitigation Plan - Countermeasures for the risk.
- Owner - Who will lead the mitigation?
Next steps. Review the outlined risks and dependencies. Identify stakeholders to help manage the most critical risks. For each, note:
- Stakeholder - Your partner in managing the risk.
- Review Frequency - Weekly, monthly, or quarterly.
- Feedback & Actions - Document updates from stakeholder conversations.

Master and adapt the play to fit your context and needs.

Share your map with relevant stakeholders and teams and let them suggest additions or edits

Run better workshops with Learning Loop card decks.

Every card deck includes workshop patterns, so your team can put the methods to work in your next session.

Running behavioral design workshops? The Persuasive Patterns Workshop Playbook (PDF) shows you how to design and run them.

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