Service Design Tools
SDT-Futures Wheel
The Futures Wheel is a brainstorming method to visualize the cascading consequences of trends, events, or decisions. This technique helps teams think through primary, secondary, and tertiary impacts. It reveals both intended and unintended consequences in a systematic way.
Duration
1.5 hours
Group Size
4-8
Category
Service Design Tools
Difficulty
Easy
- Map direct and indirect consequences of changes or decisions.
- Identify unintended effects.
- Understand cascade effects through multiple orders of impact.
- Build shared understanding of complex implications.
- Support informed decision-making.
- Completed futures wheel.
- Mapped implications.
- Understood cascading effects.
Keep consequences specific. Encourage wild ideas early on. Use "What happens next?" prompts. Rotate who adds consequences to maintain energy. Are consequences logically connected? Have we considered multiple stakeholders? Have we included social, technical, economic, environmental, and political dimensions? For virtual sessions, use mind mapping software like Miro or Mural. Assign branches to breakout groups. Use different colors for each participant's contributions. I've found it tricky to get people to think beyond the obvious - give them time!
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