# Decision Maze Small groups navigate a branching scenario step by step, evaluating trade-offs at each decision point. They record their path and compare consequences with other teams during a structured debrief. **Time:** 45 minutes. Evidence suggests 20 to 120 minutes depending on complexity; 45 minutes fits a 3-tier branching scenario with room debrief. **People:** 6 to 24. Small teams of 3 to 4 participants working in parallel. ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Compare how different assumptions and trade-offs lead to distinct practical consequences in a complex scenario. **Use it when:** Use when a team needs to examine strategic options, project risks, or policy choices before committing to a plan. **Skip it when:** Skip when there is a single legally or technically mandated path with no room for alternative choices. ## Materials and tools - One Decision Maze scenario packet per team (three printed scenario sheets: Station 1, Station 2, Station 3) - One Decision Log worksheet per team - One pen or pencil per team - One countdown timer visible to the room ## Before participants arrive 1. Print one copy of the 3-page Decision Maze packet and one Decision Log worksheet for each team. 2. Arrange seating into small team clusters of 3 or 4 chairs around a table. 3. Keep Station 2 and Station 3 sheets folded or sealed until teams reach them. ## Say this to open Welcome. Today we are exploring how choices compound over time. Your team will navigate a scenario with branching paths. At each stage, your group must choose one option based on the trade-offs described, write down your reasoning on your Decision Log, and only then open the corresponding next station. Let us begin with Station 1. ## How to run it ### 1. Form teams and review the scenario (5 minutes) Divide participants into teams of 3 or 4. Hand out the Station 1 scenario sheet and the Decision Log. Explain the task: read the situation, discuss the trade-offs, and select one path by consensus or majority vote. ### 2. Navigate Stage 1 and Stage 2 (15 minutes) Teams analyze Station 1, choose Path A or Path B, and write their rationale on the Decision Log. Once logged, teams open their chosen Station 2 sheet (2A or 2B). They read the consequence, evaluate the next options, and record their next choice. ### 3. Resolve Stage 3 outcomes (10 minutes) Teams open their chosen Station 3 branch based on their Stage 2 selection. They read their final operational outcome, assess what resources they kept or lost, and summarize their final state on their Decision Log. ### 4. Compare paths and debrief (15 minutes) Reconvene the full room. Ask one representative from two contrasting paths to state their choices and outcomes in 2 minutes each. Then facilitate the debrief questions with the full room. ## Debrief questions - What critical assumptions influenced your team's first major choice? - Where did an unexpected consequence in Stage 2 force you to shift your strategy? - How did the trade-offs you accepted early on limit your later flexibility? **Finished output:** Completed Decision Logs showing the sequential path, stated reasoning, and final scenario outcomes from each team. ## Remote Set up breakout rooms for teams of 3 to 4. Provide the branching scenario using linked digital slides or forms where selecting an option reveals the next station. Each team records choices in a shared online document before returning to the main room for debrief. ## Hybrid Place remote participants together in dedicated breakout rooms using the digital maze document. In-person participants work in room pods with printed sheets. The whole-room debrief occurs in the joint plenary call with screen-shared logs. ## Access and participation choices - Teams assign roles internally such as reader, scribe, or timekeeper so individuals can contribute in ways that match their working style. - Any participant may pass on reading aloud or reporting back to the plenary without giving a reason. ## If the session gets stuck **A team opens all branches at once to reverse-engineer the best ending.** Remind teams that the exercise evaluates decision-making under uncertainty, not puzzle solving; instruct them to follow only the branch earned by their recorded choice. **A team becomes deadlocked on a single decision and runs out of time.** Step in at the 3-minute mark of any stage and instruct the team to take a quick vote or flip a coin so they can experience the downstream consequences. ## Terms used here - Branching path: A structure where each choice leads to a distinct set of subsequent options and consequences. - Trade-off: A balance achieved between two desirable but incompatible features, giving up one advantage to gain another. ## Participant material: Sample Community Health Initiative Scenario STATION 1: INITIAL CRISIS Context: Your community clinic has received an emergency grant of 50,000 dollars to address a rapid spike in seasonal illness, but staff capacity is severely stretched. Option 1A: Hire temporary contract nurses to expand daily walk-in capacity immediately. Trade-off: Fast relief for patient wait times, but no lasting institutional systems or preventative outreach. Go to Station 2A. Option 1B: Launch a mobile triage and home-visit education program using existing staff on overtime. Trade-off: Directly reaches isolated residents, but risks severe staff burnout and reduces clinic walk-in hours. Go to Station 2B. -------------------------------------------------- STATION 2A (If you chose 1A): Consequence: Clinic visits double. Two weeks in, supply chains stall and you run low on basic diagnostic kits. Option 2A-1: Ration kits strictly for severe cases and refer mild cases to a distant regional hospital. Trade-off: Protects critical supplies, but burdens vulnerable patients with travel costs. Go to Station 3A-1. Option 2A-2: Purchase emergency supplies at double cost from a private supplier using remaining contingency funds. Trade-off: Solves supply shortage immediately, but empties the operating reserve for next month. Go to Station 3A-2. -------------------------------------------------- STATION 2B (If you chose 1B): Consequence: Mobile outreach identifies dozens of high-risk cases early, but three key clinic nurses resign due to overtime exhaustion. Option 2B-1: Suspend mobile visits immediately and pull remaining staff back to cover walk-ins. Trade-off: Stabilizes the clinic core, but damages trust with community members expecting visits. Go to Station 3B-1. Option 2B-2: Partner with a local volunteer corps to take over basic home logistics while staff supervise remotely. Trade-off: Keeps outreach alive, but introduces quality control and safety coordination risks. Go to Station 3B-2. -------------------------------------------------- STATION 3: FINAL OUTCOMES Outcome 3A-1: Clinic survived the supply crunch, but patient satisfaction dropped and regional partners report overwhelmed emergency rooms. Outcome 3A-2: High standard of clinic care maintained, but grant funds are exhausted with two weeks remaining in the illness surge. Outcome 3B-1: Walk-in operations stabilized, but vulnerable homebound residents experienced higher rates of secondary complications. Outcome 3B-2: Community engagement reached an all-time high, but staff spent 40 percent of their time correcting volunteer administrative errors. ## Participant material: Decision Log Worksheet Team Name or Number: ____________________ STAGE 1 Chosen Option (1A or 1B): _______ Key Reason for Choice: ___________________________________________________ What risk did you accept? ________________________________________________ STAGE 2 Chosen Option (e.g., 2A-1, 2B-2): _______ Key Reason for Choice: ___________________________________________________ What unexpected challenge did you encounter? ____________________________ STAGE 3 OUTCOME Final Outcome Code: _______ Summary of your team's end state: ________________________________________ Looking back, what trade-off had the biggest unintended impact? ___________ ## Sources and adaptation Observed in the Participatory Methods activity catalogue under the title 'Decision maze'. The core mechanic of navigating a branching diagram with sequential choices, trade-offs, and downstream consequences comes directly from the Participatory Methods evidence. UWT adapted the activity into a standard 45-minute modular run sheet, provided a complete plug-and-play three-tier community health scenario, and added structured Decision Log worksheets and access guidelines. [Participatory Methods](https://participatorymethods.com/activities/decision-maze/) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/decision-maze/