Impact Mapping

Impact Mapping is a visual tool that connects a company's objectives to the associated stakeholders, impacts, and deliverables. It helps prioritise features by focusing on what truly adds value for users and the business. This game fosters a shared understanding of issues and priorities by involving all stakeholders in defining strategic objectives.

Walkthrough

1. 1

   Introduction and context

   10 min

   The facilitator presents the concept of Impact Mapping and its usefulness in aligning business objectives with concrete actions. They explain that the exercise will take place in several stages, each aimed at answering a key question: Why, Who, How, and What. Participants are invited to ask questions to clarify the process.

   Tip — Use concrete and relevant examples to illustrate each question to capture participants' interest from the start.

2. 2

   Define the Why

   15 min

   Participants are invited to reflect and formulate the main objective of the current project or initiative. The facilitator asks: "Why are we investing in this project?" and encourages participants to express clear, results-oriented answers. They note the responses on a board or a sheet of paper.

   Tip — Encourage discussion by asking open-ended questions that prompt reflection on long-term benefits.

3. 3

   Identify the stakeholders (Who)

   15 min

   The facilitator asks participants to identify all stakeholders who influence or are influenced by the objective. They pose questions like: "Who can help us achieve this objective? Who can prevent us from doing so?" The answers are noted around the objective on the impact map.

   Tip — Use sticky notes so each participant can add their ideas, promoting active participation.

4. 4

   Define the impacts (How)

   20 min

   Participants reflect on the behaviours or changes needed from the stakeholders to achieve the objective. The facilitator guides the discussion with questions such as: "How must the behaviour of stakeholders change to achieve the objective?" The identified impacts are added to the map.

   Tip — Encourage participants to think in terms of measurable behaviours to better assess the impact.

5. 5

   List the deliverables (What)

   20 min

   Participants identify specific actions or deliverables that the team can undertake to encourage the impacts. The facilitator asks: "What actions can we take to encourage these impacts?" Ideas are noted and discussed to evaluate their feasibility.

   Tip — Encourage idea generation without initial judgement to foster creativity and innovation.

6. 6

   Conclusion and summary

   10 min

   The facilitator summarises the key points of the created impact map. They invite participants to share their final thoughts on the exercise and identify the next steps to integrate the results into their strategic planning.

   Tip — Take a photo of the final impact map and share it with all participants to maintain engagement and collective memory.

Variants

• Use digital tools to create an online impact map, facilitating remote work.
• Invite a client or end user to participate for an external perspective.
• Conduct the exercise over several sessions to allow for deeper reflection between each stage.