Method guide · Work with a structured grid
Partial Agreement Grid
Separate agreement, conditional agreement, and disagreement, making clear what can proceed and what still needs checking.
- People
- 4–30
- Base procedure time
- 35 minutes
- Recording
- Shared record
Purpose: Organise and narrow ideas; Explore through dialogue.
English guide
Text acceptance is not approval of this rendered page, its media, or publication.
How this method works
A convergence method for moving forward by separating issues into full agreement, conditional agreement, and disagreement. Use it when rushing for unanimity leads to decisions that leave conditions and objections unclear. Assigning a checker to conditional agreement distinguishes what can be acted on now from what must be checked later. Keep disagreement explicit outside the scope of action instead of hiding it as failure. The result is an agreement grid with checking deadlines and a scope of action. Do not use it as a substitute for legally accountable final approval or to force opponents to agree. Recording what will be removed from the scope of action if a condition is not met can also prevent conditional agreement from turning into retrospective ratification.
Phase schedule
Minutes are cumulative from the start of the base plan, not a live timer. Read scaling for any additional time. Phase controls do not advance automatically.
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- Present issues0–5 minutes from the start (5 minutes)
Action: Present. Participation: Everyone.
Individual record
- Place in three columns5–13 minutes from the start (8 minutes)
Action: Place. Participation: Groups of 3–6.
Shared record
- Write conditions13–21 minutes from the start (8 minutes)
Action: Write. Participation: Groups of 3–6.
Shared record
- Choose checkers21–29 minutes from the start (8 minutes)
Action: Choose. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
- Keep the grid29–35 minutes from the start (6 minutes)
Action: Keep. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- For 5 minutes, write the issues to decide now and the actions to start after the decision, one item per note.
- For 8 minutes, place each issue together in one of three columns: agreement, conditional agreement, or disagreement.
- For 8 minutes, write in one sentence the fact-check or deadline needed for each conditionally agreed item.
- For 8 minutes, choose one person responsible for each check and a deadline for reporting back to everyone.
- For 6 minutes, read back and retain the scope of action for agreed and conditionally agreed items and the scope of disagreement.
If something changes
If
Four minutes into placing issues in the three columns, disagreement is still empty.
Then
Write just one note about the outcome an opponent is most concerned about and place the notes again.
If
Four minutes into choosing checkers, 4 or more conditionally agreed items remain.
Then
Keep two items that can be checked within the next week and return the others to disagreement.
Preparation
Materials
- Three issue sticky notes per person
- One A3 grid per group with agreement, conditional agreement, and disagreement columns, plus one for whole-group integration
- One writing implement per person
- One checker card per conditionally agreed item
Room and setup
- One three-column work surface per group with the disagreement column the widest
- Two display surfaces at least 1 m apart for keeping the scope of action and disagreement separate
- One island table per group where no more than 6 people can gather around the grid
Adjust for people and time
With fewer than 4 people, it is difficult to compare how objections are handled, so do not use the method. Divide everyone into groups of no more than 6 whose sizes differ by no more than 1 person, each using one work surface. Transfer up to 2 conditionally agreed items per group to the whole-group grid. With 30 people, work with 10 items from five groups, and do not mix disagreement into the scope of action.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Do not replace legally accountable final approval or force opponents to agree. Keep disagreement outside the scope of action and make checks, owners, and reporting deadlines visible. Recording what leaves the action scope if a condition is not met can prevent retrospective ratification.
Historical translation and source notes
These original notes are retained verbatim with their fixed source versions. This historical label does not resolve a source-specific concern or establish current acceptance.
- The phase labels specify groups of 3–6; scaling gives a maximum of 6 and balanced sizes but no group-count algorithm. Both instructions remain without an invented allocation rule.
Manuscript's recorded references
These translate the original manuscript's source and rights claims. They remain separate from any current-page notice below; they do not establish new verification.
- Taiwa no Fumen editorial team: Partial Agreement Grid
Original description and illustrations
Diagram, print, and video language
Original Japanese guide, diagram, and print view. Their labels and print text have not been translated; an English print edition is not provided here.
English video-library navigation. Original Japanese audio, subtitles and transcripts remain labelled Japanese resources. Their translations are separate later work. No remote player is embedded here.
The manual English phase controls are a navigation aid, not a live facilitation timer. Interactive diagram motion remains pending.
Editorial provenance
Japanese source status and logs are provenance only. They do not mean this English text or interface was field-tested. Historical fixed-text acceptance and hold records remain specific to their recorded versions; displaying them neither asserts current acceptance nor resolves source-specific restrictions.