Purpose
In Understand, the team builds shared awareness of the challenge: the problem space, stakeholders, current workflows, assumptions and constraints. It shifts individual mental models into a collective picture, so people move forward from the same foundation rather than diverging later.
It helps the organisation detect early where AI might add real value, what risks or ethical issues might emerge, and what data or capacity is known vs unknown. Done well, this stage increases confidence, reduces wasted work, and fuels more strategic decision‑making.
Outcome
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A set of well‑phrased “How Might We…” questions, scoped realistically.
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A mapped view of the current context: stakeholders, processes, pain points, data flows.
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A clear list of assumptions, constraints, risks, and knowledge gaps to drive what to test next.
Tools
Process Mapping What: Visualise how work currently flows. How: Use sticky notes or digital boards to map steps, actors, inputs, outputs. Highlight repetition, manual handling, or bottlenecks. Why: Makes pain points visible for AI opportunities.
Sails & Anchors What: Identify drivers that propel work (sails) and barriers that hold it back (anchors). How: Each participant writes one sail and one anchor; cluster them on flipcharts. Why: Inspires HMWs linked to strengths and constraints.
Role Perspective Mapping What: Explore the problem through different stakeholder roles. How: Pick roles (customer, manager, operator); brainstorm issues/needs from each perspective. Why: Ensures solutions consider varied needs.
AI Lens Prompts What: Use AI to scan processes and suggest potential applications. How: Feed process steps into ChatGPT with a tailored prompt. Ask: “Where could AI help?” Why: Expands imagination beyond human experience.
SWOT / 6 Thinking Hats What: Structured methods for surfacing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats or adopting different thinking styles. How: Run SWOT as a group; or assign Hats (optimist, pessimist, data, creativity) to participants. Why: Surfaces diverse views, stimulates balanced understanding.
Visioning / Goal Setting What: Clarify future desired state. How: Ask participants to imagine success 2 years out; describe outcomes, behaviours, impacts. Why: Helps frame HMWs around aspirations.
Interviewing / Kipling Questions What: Gather structured insights (Who, What, When, Where, Why, How). How: Interview key stakeholders, or use Kipling’s 6 Questions on the process. Why: Surfaces assumptions, context, gaps.
Car Park & Groundrules (6As) What: Groundrules set norms; Car Park captures off-topic but valuable issues. How: Agree norms (attendance, attention, accountability etc.); park tangential issues visibly. Why: Maintains focus, supports psychological safety.