Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: 0c49de8b56213c4a34221e9a8bae57dc734fce72eaa647f70cad68aff093cc93

# Card Mapping and Sorting

Pairs or small groups select topic cards, map them along a two-row table, and annotate current status and future vision with sticky notes.

**Time:** 40 minutes. UWT suggested 40-minute structure for the table workshop method described in source materials.
**People:** 4 to 24. Tables of 3 to 6 people; within each table, participants work in pairs or trios.

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Establish a shared visual overview of project elements across current reality and future intentions.
**Use it when:** Project kickoffs, retro reviews, or scope definition sessions when a team needs structured prompts to talk through complex initiatives.
**Skip it when:** When the team already has an agreed line-item scope and needs execution tracking rather than topical exploration.

## Materials and tools

- 1 deck of topic cards (MethodKit deck or supplied printable topic cards) per table
- 1 roll of butcher paper or large chart paper per table
- 1 roll of paper masking tape per table
- 2 pads of 3x3 sticky notes in contrasting colors per table
- 1 black marker per person
- 1 pad of blank scratch paper per table
- Shared digital whiteboard platform access (for remote or hybrid delivery)
- 1 tablet or laptop per in-person table (for hybrid documentation scribe)

## Before participants arrive

1. Cover each working table with butcher paper.
2. Use masking tape to divide the paper horizontally into two rows: Current Situation (top) and Vision (bottom).
3. Place a card deck, scratch paper, sticky notes, and markers at the center of each table.

## Say this to open

We are going to map our project using focus cards. Each card names a specific element of our work, such as Team, Budget, or Audience. Working in pairs, you will choose the cards that matter most right now, review what is true today, and note what needs to change for the future.

## How to run it

### 1. Introduce and individual reflection (5 minutes)

Read the opening script. Explain the table layout with the two rows: Current Situation and Vision. Invite everyone to browse the card deck at their table individually and jot down 2 or 3 priority topics on scratch paper in silence.

### 2. Select columns in pairs (10 minutes)

Participants form pairs (or one trio if numbers are uneven). Each pair reviews individual scratch notes, agrees on 3 to 5 focus cards from the deck, and places each card along the top edge of the table to serve as column headers.

### 3. Map current situation and vision (15 minutes)

Working under each column header, pairs write sticky notes. Place reality observations in the top row (Current Situation) and target outcomes in the bottom row (Vision). Limit each note to one clear point. Pairs stop when each chosen column has at least one note in each row.

### 4. Table walkthrough and harvest (10 minutes)

Call on 4 to 6 total volunteers from across the room. Give each speaker 45 seconds to highlight one contrast between Current Situation and Vision. Facilitator photographs finished paper maps for group reference.


## Debrief questions

- Which project aspect showed the biggest gap between today and the vision?
- Where did pairs place different emphasis on the same card topic?
- What is one concrete next action surfaced by this map?

**Finished output:** A physical or digital two-row grid mapping chosen project dimensions across Current Situation and Vision.

## Remote

Set up a shared digital whiteboard platform with two horizontal swimlanes labeled 'Current Situation' and 'Vision'. Provide digital sticky notes representing the topic cards. Break participants into breakout rooms of 2 or 3. Pairs choose 3 to 5 card frames, paste them as headers, and populate sticky notes underneath. Regroup for a ten-minute plenary review where two rooms share screen.

## Hybrid

Pair in-person participants together at physical tables and remote participants in virtual breakout rooms on the shared digital whiteboard platform. Assign an in-person scribe with a tablet or laptop to photograph physical table sheets and upload them into the shared digital whiteboard platform during step 4 so remote and in-person groups can inspect all maps.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may opt to contribute ideas verbally to a partner who writes, or write silently on sticky notes without speaking publicly.
- Anyone may choose to observe a pair's mapping discussion without taking an active card-sorting turn.

## If the session gets stuck

**Groups spend the entire time debating which cards to choose and do not write any notes.**

Enforce a hard stop at minute 15: ask groups to lock in whichever 3 cards are currently in their hands and proceed directly to mapping.

**Participants write sprawling paragraphs on sticky notes that others cannot read.**

Demonstrate the rule: one short headline per note using thick markers, maximum 7 words.


## Terms used here

- Column Header: A topic card placed at the top of the paper to designate all notes written below it.

## Participant material: Universal Project Cards Printable Sheet

Cut into individual cards before the session:

[ CARD: GOALS & PURPOSE ]
What are we trying to achieve, and why does it matter?

[ CARD: AUDIENCE & USERS ]
Who are we serving, and what are their actual constraints?

[ CARD: TEAM & ROLES ]
Who is doing the work, and where are the responsibilities unclear?

[ CARD: BUDGET & RESOURCES ]
What money, equipment, or space do we actually have available?

[ CARD: TIMELINE & DEADLINES ]
What are the critical dates, milestones, and external dependencies?

[ CARD: CHANNELS & REACH ]
How does this work reach the people who need to see it?

[ CARD: RISKS & OBSTACLES ]
What could derail this work, and what is our contingency?

[ CARD: METRICS & EVIDENCE ]
How will we verify whether this effort succeeded?

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in MethodKit workshop documentation ('How to use' guide at methodkit.com).

Retained MethodKit core mechanics: card sorting, table workshop layout using paper and tape to divide Current Situation vs Vision rows, and pair collaboration starting with silent reflection. UWT structured the session into a defined 40-minute facilitator agenda with concrete step lengths, debrief questions, access choices, and printable neutral cards.

[MethodKit](https://methodkit.com/how-to-use/)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/methodkit-how-to-use/