Session Brief: Starbursting

Goal

Artifact: Sternförmige Fragenkarte

Working Question

Which questions around who, what, when, where, how and why must the team answer before meaningful solution work can start?

Context

Core idea or challenge as one sentence; existing preliminary research or assumptions; list of known stakeholders; optionally first solution sketches, explicitly held back.

Setup

• Format: Method session
• Duration: 30-60 min
• Mode: Workshop or async
• Participants: One facilitator who timeboxes question rounds and slows discussions; three to ten participants with different contextual knowledge; one scribe who visibly parks open questions and assumptions.
• Owner: One facilitator who timeboxes question rounds and slows discussions
• Participation mode: Team round, shared work and alignment
• Outcome logic: Finish artifact

Participation Logic

Use the session for shared understanding. Contributions are collected visibly, assumptions are aligned, and open differences remain traceable in the artifact.

Outcome Logic

The session works directly toward Sternförmige Fragenkarte. After the session, the artifact should be shareable, reviewable, or reusable.

Input

Whiteboard or Miro/FigJam board with star template (six points: Who, What, When, Where, How, Why); stickies in two colors (question, answer); timer; markers.

Preparation

Write core idea in star center. Label six points with W/H questions. State rule: questions first, no answers. One timebox of 3-5 min per point.

Agenda

1. Phase 1: Setup and sharpen idea (5-10 min) Owner: Facilitator Action: Formulate core idea in one sentence and write it in center. Clarify what the idea is and is not. Show star template, read W/H questions. Hint: If the sentence already contains solution, reformulate as problem or effect. Otherwise questions become detail tuning instead of real clarification. Output: Sternförmige Fragenkarte

2. Phase 2: Question rounds per point (20-30 min) Owner: Facilitator Action: Per point 3-5 min silent work, everyone writes questions on stickies (one per sticky). Briefly read out after each point, cluster duplicates. No answers, no discussion. Hint: Facilitator interrupts every answer attempt immediately and parks it. People who seek answers immediately overlook uncomfortable questions that hurt later. Output: Frageliste

3. Phase 3: Prioritization (10 min) Owner: Facilitator Action: Review all questions. Each person puts 3-5 dots on questions whose answers most influence the next step. Mark top questions. Hint: If all dots go to one point (for example only How), that shows a blind spot. Facilitator points it out and checks whether Who and Why were consciously skipped. Output: Annahmenliste

4. Phase 4: Answers and assumptions (10-15 min) Owner: Owner Action: Write answers or assumptions for top questions. Where answer is missing: mark as open question with owner and research path. Explicitly label assumptions. Hint: Separate guess and fact. If an answer is only gut feeling, it belongs on assumptions stack, not in documentation as fact. Output: Sternförmige Fragenkarte

5. Publish artifact (10 min) Owner: Owner Action: Check the artifact for completeness, define location, set version or status, and name review recipients. Output: Sternförmige Fragenkarte

Closeout

• Update result artifact: Sternförmige Fragenkarte
• Define location, version, and review recipients.
• Define owner, next step, and review date.

Sternförmige Fragenkarte: Starbursting

Working Question

Which questions around who, what, when, where, how and why must the team answer before meaningful solution work can start?

Context

Core idea or challenge as one sentence; existing preliminary research or assumptions; list of known stakeholders; optionally first solution sketches, explicitly held back.

Participants

• Owner: One facilitator who timeboxes question rounds and slows discussions
• Participants: One facilitator who timeboxes question rounds and slows discussions; three to ten participants with different contextual knowledge; one scribe who visibly parks open questions and assumptions.

Input

Whiteboard or Miro/FigJam board with star template (six points: Who, What, When, Where, How, Why); stickies in two colors (question, answer); timer; markers.

Template

Starbursting Working Template

Goal

Question-driven ideation across Who, What, When, Where, How, and Why.

Context

When and for what do we use this method?

Input

Which data, observations, decisions, or materials are available?

Execution

Short notes along the runsheet.

Output artifacts

• Star-shaped question map:
• Question list:
• Assumption list:

Assumptions and open questions

• ...

Decision / next step

Owner, date, and success signal.

Completion Check

• Sternförmige Fragenkarte is complete enough for review:
• Location:
• Version / status:
• Review by:
• Next step:

Next Step

• Review result
• Mark open questions
• Schedule review or decision