What needs to be finished first
A clear focus question or initiative is formulated ("How should we approach onboarding friction in Q3?"), and it defines the context scope.
The key stakeholders around the question are named so they can be captured concretely in the canvas block "People and environment".
What needs to be ready before start
Context canvas template with blocks for trends, demographics, rules and regulations, economy and environment, technology, customer needs, uncertainties, or similar structures from Strategyzer or IREB; sticky notes; markers; optional pre-material on market trends.
One facilitator; 3-10 participants from product, strategy, design, and possibly stakeholders; ideally one person with market overview, such as sales or strategy, and one with user context, such as research.
Focus question; known market trends; regulatory constraints; stakeholder list; existing assumptions about contextual factors.
45-90 min
Canvas on wall or board. Focus question at the top. Blocks pre-labeled. Sticky note rule: one fact or observation per note. Mark assumptions explicitly as "Assumption", for example with a pen.
The one question this method answers
Which context, environment, stakeholders, trends, constraints, and assumptions shapes our initiative, and where do the most important open questions arise?
Marker: Sektion
| Step | Duration | Action | Hint |
|---|---|---|---|
1Section 1: Focus question and scope | 5-10 min | State the focus question aloud and make it visible. Define the scope: what belongs to the context and what does not. Example: "Onboarding in Q3 for solo tax advisors, not marketing strategy". | Without clear scope, the canvas becomes a general description. A narrower scope with depth is better than a broad one with only surface detail. |
2Section 2: Stakeholders and environment | 10-15 min | One sticky note per stakeholder or environmental actor, such as end user, sponsor, competitor, supplier, or regulator. Briefly describe the relationship to the initiative. | If too few stakeholders are named, for example 3-4, the picture lacks overview. Aim for at least 8-12 stakeholders or actors for a workable picture. |
3Section 3: Goals and constraints | 10-15 min | What do we want to achieve? What limits us, such as budget, time, technology, regulation, or politics? Put 3-7 sticky notes per block. Make concrete constraints with a source. | Goals are often phrased vaguely, for example "get better". Be specific: what, by when, and how would it be recognized? Constraints need numbers, dates, or norms. |
4Section 4: Trends and assumptions | 10-15 min | Capture market trends, technology developments, and shifts in customer behavior. Mark assumptions explicitly as "Assumption:" using yellow notes or another marker. | Assumptions are often disguised as facts. The facilitator asks: "How do we know this?" If there is no source, it is an assumption. |
5Section 5: Risks and open questions | 10-15 min | One sticky note per risk or open question. Mark the top risks in red. For each open question, add an owner and next step such as research, interview, or data spike. | Open questions are the most valuable follow-up artifact. Without owners, they fade away. Top 3 are mandatory with a date. |
What comes out at the end
Context Canvas as image or digital export with all blocks, clearly marked assumptions and risks, plus a list of open questions with owner and follow-up action, plus a stakeholder list with relationships.
Create one canvas per initiative with date. For major market or stakeholder shifts, create a new version and keep the old one as a reference. Keep the open-question list as a living backlog with status tracking.
Compact working template for Context Canvas with context, input, output artifacts, and next step.
What is this method used for?
Which question should be answered at the end?
Which data, observations, or materials are available?
Owner, date, success signal.
Concrete filled scenario, fictional example
Concrete filled scenario, fictional example
Focus question: How do we reduce onboarding friction for solo tax advisors in Q3?
Recognize symptoms and steer against them
The canvas becomes a general description and everything is detailed without relation to the focus question.
Check every sticky note for relevance to the focus question. If it is not clearly relevant, leave it out. The canvas should be workable, not encyclopedic.
Trends are treated as known facts without source or validation.
Mark assumptions explicitly, for example with yellow notes or an "Assumption:" prefix. Attach a source or validation task to each assumption.
Only end users and the internal team are named, without competitors, suppliers, or regulators.
Work with trigger categories: end user, sponsor, competitor, supplier, regulator, internal. Aim for at least 1-2 actors per category.
"Not much time" or "small budget" without numbers.
Quantify constraints: budget in EUR, time in weeks, compliance norm with paragraph. Otherwise decisions are not workable.
Questions are formulated, but nobody takes responsibility for clarifying them.
Top questions require an owner and a date. Without an owner, a question is just occupation. Track it in the discovery backlog.
Done signals checkable in under a minute
Go to the profile for purpose, similar methods, and sources or continue to the next method in the catalog.