W³ - What, So What, Now What?

Together, look back on progress to date and decide what adjustments are needed

Five Structural Elements—Min Specs

1. Structuring Invitation
• Invitation “Let’s look back on our progress and make adjustments as we move forward. In three phases, we will start with facts and observations by asking what happened. Then we will explore why it is important and what happens next.”
2. Space and Materials
• An unlimited number of groups
• Chairs for small groups of five to seven [breakouts of five to seven].
• Paper for everyone to make lists
• Flip chart for the whole group [chat or visual collaboration space] See W3 figure in attachments
• Talking object * (optional)
  
3. Participation Distributed
• Roles include host [tech host] and participants.
• Minimum group size is four.
• Everyone is invited and has an equal opportunity to contribute.
  
• Small groups are more likely to give voice to everyone if one person facilitates and keeps everybody working on one question at a time
4. How Groups Are Configured
• Individuals
• Groups of 5-7 (established or new)
• Whole group
  
5. Steps and Time Allocation

Intro: Share the structuring invitation. Show W3 ladder visual (below). The ladder illustrates a path to avoid misunderstandings by moving from low on the ladder (data) to high on the ladder (beliefs and actions). Preview the three questions:

• What? What happened? What did you notice? What facts or observations stood out? Include observations about space, process, emotions you noticed.
• So What? What does the data mean? Why is it important? What patterns or conclusions are emerging? What hunches or hypotheses can you make?
• Now What? What actions or first steps make sense? (2 min.)

Round 1 (What?): Individuals reflect and write down answers to the first question. (1 min.) They form groups [move to breakout rooms] to share their responses. (3–8 min.) They then return to plenary. A few people share the most important facts they learned and capture them on a flip chart. (2–3 min.)

Round 2 (So What?): Repeat the same steps, asking the second question about meaning and conclusions.

Round 3 (Now What?): Repeat the same steps, asking the third question about actions and next steps.

Taking it online

The structure W3 works online with no major adjustments. Digital tools like chat make it easy to capture the three Ws.

Why? Purposes

• Build shared understanding of how people develop different perspectives, ideas, and rationales for actions and decisions
• Make sure that learning is generated from shared experiences: no feedback = no learning
• Avoid repeating the same mistakes or dysfunctions over and over
• Get all data and observations on the table first, so everyone starts on the same page and avoids premature action or arguments about facts
• Honor the history and the novelty of what is unfolding
• Build trust and reduce fear by learning together at each step of a shared experience
• Make sense of complex challenges in a way that unleashes action
• Experience how questions are more powerful than answers because they invite active exploration
  

Tips and Traps

• Practice W3 often. The more you use it, the more natural it feels
• Check with small groups to clarify appropriate answers for each question and share examples with the whole group if needed
• When sharing with the whole group, collect one important answer at a time. Seek out unique answers full of meaning rather than a long repetitive list from a single group
• Encourage people to record observations as well as facts for the What Happened stage
• Don't rush the So What stage. It is the most difficult of the three, as linking observations directly to patterns can be challenging; use the Ladder of Inference as a reminder of the logical steps from observations to action
• Intervene quickly and clearly when someone jumps up the Ladder of Inference
• Appreciate and recognise candid feedback
• Build in time for the debrief, don't trivialize or rush it
• Make it the norm to debrief with W3, however quickly, at the end of everything
• Create an artifact at the end of each meeting to enable a strong start at the next one

Riffs and Variations

• Add a What If? question between So What? and Now What? to develop ideas for experiments; use the W3 visual template to record answers and look for relationships between them
• Use a talking object for each round. It slows and deepens the conversation (see note below)
• For the What? stage, sift responses into categories: facts with evidence, shared observations, feelings, and opinions
• For the So What? stage, sift items into patterns, conclusions, hypotheses, and beliefs
  
• Invite a small group of volunteers to debrief in front of the whole room. People with strong reactions and diverse roles should be invited to join in.

Practical Applications

• To draw out the history and meaning of events before your gathering, start a meeting with W3
• To debrief any topic that generates complex or controversial responses
• With groups where strong opinions or dominant individuals risk crowding out other voices
• With groups where people have difficulty listening to those with different backgrounds
• In place of a leader telling people what to think, what conclusions to draw, or what actions to take
• As a standard discipline at the end of all meetings
• Right after a shocking event
  On talking objects: a talking object can be anything you can pass from person to person—whoever holds it is invited to speak; everyone else is invited to listen. Natural objects that are enjoyable to hold work well, as do playful art objects for lightening the mood on serious topics. In a pinch, a book or pen will do.

Optional String

Explore ambitions for the future with Future~Present, Wicked Questions, and 25/10 Crowdsourcing

Source: Liberating Structures