Method guide · Work with a structured grid
Urgent/Important grid
Use to show differences in urgency and importance judgements without negotiating away mandatory immediate action.
- People
- 3–50
- Base procedure time
- 20 minutes
- Recording
- Shared record
Purpose: Organise and narrow ideas; Make a decision.
English guide
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How this method works
Place issues on urgency and importance axes to make differences in judgement visible. Define each axis for the setting and exclude items whose immediate response is already determined by law or safety procedures. Write one issue per card and let its proposer place it provisionally. People who propose another location add placement-difference markers. Compare assumptions only for cards with at least 2 markers. Do not force a single location: retain cards on boundaries or in multiple locations. Decide the order of action in a later stage. Do not use this to renegotiate immediate responses or where the axes cannot be defined.
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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- Define the axes and exclusions0–3 minutes from the start (3 minutes)
Action: Define. Participation: Small group around the two-axis grid.
Shared record
- Write one issue per card3–7 minutes from the start (4 minutes)
Action: Write. Participation: Small group around the two-axis grid.
Shared record
- Place provisionally and mark differences7–12 minutes from the start (5 minutes)
Action: Place. Participation: Small group around the two-axis grid.
Shared record
- Compare only differing placements12–16 minutes from the start (4 minutes)
Action: Compare. Participation: Small group around the two-axis grid.
Shared record
- Keep ranges for the next decision16–20 minutes from the start (4 minutes)
Action: Keep. Participation: Small group around the two-axis grid.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- For 3 minutes, define urgency and importance in one sentence each, excluding items whose immediate response is already determined.
- For 4 minutes, write no more than 10 issues or actions for comparison, one per card.
- For 5 minutes, proposers place cards provisionally and people who suggest another location add placement-difference markers.
- For 4 minutes, ask about assumptions only for cards with at least 2 difference markers and move them to boundaries or multiple locations.
- For 4 minutes, finalise the arrangement without removing the range of judgements, then pass it to the next stage for deciding action order.
If something changes
If
At the 3-minute point from the start, at least one item requires immediate action under law or safety procedures.
Then
Do not place that item on the grid. Move it to an immediate-action field and compare only the remaining items.
If
After provisional placement, at least 2 markers on the same card indicate a different area.
Then
Do not force one location. Place the card on the boundary between areas and write no more than 2 differing assumptions in its margin.
If
At the 7-minute point from the start, there are 11 or more issue cards.
Then
Do not begin placement in this session. Hold a separate 10-minute dot vote with 2 points per person. Pass only the top 10 items to the next grid session, deferring every tied item whose tie would take the selection beyond 10.
Preparation
Materials
- Issue cards: one per issue, no more than 10 issues
- Urgency/importance grids: one per group
- Placement-difference markers: 5 per person
- Broad-tip pens: 2 per group
Room and setup
- One surface with labels at the ends of the urgency and importance axes.
Adjust for people and time
For 3–10 people, gather around one grid. For 11–50 people, divide the participant count by 10 and round up for the number of groups, distribute people evenly with no more than 10 per group, and provide the same issue-card set to every group. Display the group arrangements side by side. If the same card is in different areas, retain the difference as a range. Do not merge it into one location by majority vote; decide action order in a separate stage.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Exclude legally or procedurally determined immediate responses rather than renegotiating them. Do not force one placement or erase different assumptions. Preserve boundaries and ranges, avoid majority-vote consolidation and leave action order to a separate stage.
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.
- Seeds for Change Facilitation Tools: Urgent/Important grid
https://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/tools
anti-copyright adaptation; changes made
- Conditions applying to anti-copyright
https://www.seedsforchange.org.uk/resources
anti-copyright
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Editorial provenance
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