Turns ideas, open questions, and testable next steps into a tangible result by gathering insights, extracting tensions, and using them as ideation prompts.
How do we reformulate our insights and pain points into open opportunity questions that trigger ideation without prescribing a solution?
The method helps clarify ideas, open questions, and testable next steps concretely. It opens up the thinking space, brings ideas together, and leads to testable options. The result is captured as HMW questions, challenge framing, and idea prompts.
The team follows the steps: gather insights, extract tensions, formulate HMW questions, sharpen scope, and use the questions as ideation prompts. Each step is captured visibly. At the end, HMW questions, challenge framing, and idea prompts are available so decisions, tests, or actions can follow directly.
Method sketch for a quick mental model.
The runsheet guides execution with 4 phases, timeboxes, 5 pitfalls, and clear stop criteria.
Open runsheetHow Might We follows a clear working logic: gathering insights, extracting tensions, formulating HMW questions, sharpening scope, and using the questions as ideation prompts. This turns the method into a visible thinking process rather than only a conversation. Participants move step by step from raw material, observations, or options toward a shared structure. As a result, HMW questions, challenge framing, and idea prompts support decisions, learning, or further planning.
Prepare a clear guiding question, the right information, and a visible workspace. Plan about 10-20 min with 1-10 people and use the format either in a workshop or asynchronously. The facilitation stays lightweight; short timeboxes, visible intermediate results, and a parking lot for open questions help.
Compact agenda template for method sequences with timebox, purpose, and output.
Goal: ... Participants: ... Duration: ...
| Time | Method | Purpose | Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00 | Check-in | Set focus | Shared start |
| 00:10 | How Might We | Ideation questions | HMW list |
| 00:35 | Brainwriting | Generate ideas | Idea pool |
| 01:10 | Dot Voting | Prepare selection | Prioritized ideas |
| 01:30 | Storyboarding | Make the concept tangible | Storyboard |
Decision, owner, next test.
Short decision aid for existing alternatives.
Statt How Might We, wenn du erst viele bessere Fragen erzeugen willst, bevor die Gruppe in Lösungsformulierungen wechselt.
A strict timebox pushes quick idea volume first, then clusters and selects options after the burst is complete.
Turns ideas, open questions, and testable next steps into a tangible result through defining a challenge, agreeing on rules, and clustering and selecting outcomes.
A single person uses a chosen prompt technique to create, sort, and sharpen ideas before group discussion starts.
Moves ideas, open questions, and testable next steps toward a concrete result through "place the core idea in the center", "label the six points with who, what, when, where, how, and why", and "mark gaps and follow-up questions".
Turns ideas, open questions, and testable next steps into a tangible result by clarifying the challenge, collecting the worst ideas, and deriving useful alternatives.
Turns ideas, open questions, and testable next steps into a tangible result through setting a prompt, writing silently, and reviewing the output.