Solution Grooming
A tool to understand and organize solutions so they can be prioritized effectively.
When to use
- When you've come up with a huge number of ideas during [Solution Brainstorming](/practices/solution-brainstorming/) and you have so many you need to understand and organize them.
Why use it
- Unless you have a systematic way to approach your pile of solutions, you may find yourself overwhelmed with opportunities. It helps to break them down into smaller features and/or group them into larger epics before prioritizing. This activity is also a great way to de-duplicate the similar ideas that people may have generated from different "How might we…?” prompts.
What you need
- Whiteboard or digital version like Miro
- Sticky notes with solution ideas (from [Solution Brainstorming](/practices/solution-brainstorming/), still attached to tabloid sheets)
- Large sticky notes
- Sharpies
- Expo markers
- Painter’s tape
How to Use this Method
Sample Agenda & Prompts
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Prior to the workshop, ensure that you can locate a space (conference room, hallway, etc.) with a whiteboard that is large enough to accommodate a very large clustering session.
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Outline the general process for the team:
- Get sticky notes on the wall
- Cluster them quietly
- Share out findings
- Refine
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Hand out one idea sheet to each team member.
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Have team members quietly add their idea sticky notes to the whiteboard and begin to cluster sticky notes into groups.
Tip: As groups form, write a label above each one so you can quickly spot duplicate groups.
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Once all sticky notes are up on the wall and in rudimentary groups, facilitator begins systematically walking through each group asking questions and massaging the group until the team is happy. Remember to update the label accordingly!
Use the following prompts:
- Are there any other groups that are similar to this one?
- Are there any individual sticky notes that should be moved to this group?
- Do all of these sticky notes belong together? If not, where should they go?
- Can we subdivide this group in any meaningful way?
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Repeat Step 5 for all groups until you’ve worked your way through the entire whiteboard of ideas.
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Once complete, direct team members to begin transferring the labels to new large sticky notes for use in the Solution Prioritization workshop.
Tip: To avoid confusion and duplication of effort, it’s helpful if each person transferring a label to the sticky note puts that note on the whiteboard (over the group in question) after they’ve finished writing it.
Success/Expected Outcomes
Success is achieved when you have clustered your ideas and copied the group labels onto large sticky notes.
Facilitator Notes & Tips
This workshop can run very long if there are a lot of ideas to cluster so be sure to take frequent breaks to avoid team burnout. It can help to get dedicated whiteboard space that you can leave and come back to over the span of a couple days.
If needed, you can also lead the team in expanding / consolidating clusters to the team’s satisfaction.