--- title: "The Kipling Method" description: "Participants examine a defined problem or concept by answering questions starting with What, Where, When, How, Why, and Who. Small groups record concrete answers on a structured worksheet to expose hidden assumptions and blind spots." last_updated: "2026-09-07" canonical: "https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/the-kipling-method-project-of-how/" --- # The Kipling Method Participants examine a defined problem or concept by answering questions starting with What, Where, When, How, Why, and Who. Small groups record concrete answers on a structured worksheet to expose hidden assumptions and blind spots. **Time:** 25 minutes. Project of How suggests 15 to 45 minutes; UWT structures this version for 25 minutes. **People:** 4 to 24. Trios or quartets working in parallel. If total headcount cannot be evenly divided into trios or quartets, form one group of five or invite an extra participant to serve as a roving timekeeper. Follow with whole-room reporting. ## Choose this exercise **Purpose:** Map concrete dimensions and blind spots of an existing idea or problem statement using prompt questions. **Use it when:** Use when an ideation group stalls, runs out of fresh angles, or needs to pressure-test an early concept before developing it further. **Skip it when:** Skip when the group lacks an agreed problem statement or when the team needs an open warmup rather than analytical questioning. ## Materials and tools - One printed Kipling Question Worksheet per subgroup (or a digital document equivalent for remote teams) - One pen or pencil per person - One countdown timer visible to the room - Digital Kipling Question Worksheet template for remote or hybrid setups ## Before participants arrive 1. Write the central problem or idea clearly on a central whiteboard or shared display. 2. Print one Kipling Question Worksheet per subgroup or prepare links to the digital worksheet template. ## Say this to open We are going to test our central idea using six foundational questions: What, Where, When, How, Why, and Who. In your groups, tackle each prompt directly on your worksheet. Aim for concrete facts, locations, names, or metrics rather than vague statements. For example, say 'three delivery drivers in Chicago' rather than 'our staff everywhere'. You may designate a scribe, take turns writing, or write your own notes first. If your group decides to skip any prompt, leave it blank and move on. ## How to run it ### 1. Introduce the challenge and prompts (3 minutes) Point out the shared problem or concept on the display. Read the opening script. Review the six prompt categories on the Kipling Question Worksheet: What, Where, When, How, Why, and Who. Remind everyone that specific operational details help test the idea far better than high-level generalities. ### 2. Draft concrete answers in small groups (12 minutes) Organize participants into trios or quartets, absorbing any remainder into a group of five. Hand out one worksheet per group or direct them to their digital copy. Participants contribute answers by speaking aloud, writing directly on the sheet, or noting ideas privately first. The facilitator circulates to prompt teams that give vague responses to name specific places, times, or roles. ### 3. Cross-share key findings (6 minutes) Reconvene the full room. Ask volunteers from up to three groups to share one prompt where their answer exposed an unexpected weakness, constraint, or new opportunity. Non-sharing groups listen, check their own worksheets for differences, and annotate any new contrasts directly onto their worksheet margins. ### 4. Review next actions and finalize worksheets (4 minutes) Lead a brief debrief focused on practical project shifts. Allow one minute for all groups to add final edits to their worksheets based on the cross-sharing. Collect or photograph physical worksheets, or ensure teams save their digital sheets to the shared project folder. ## Debrief questions - Which specific question was hardest for your group to answer concretely? - What critical assumption did these questions challenge about our original idea? - What immediate adjustment should we make to our project scope based on what surfaced? **Finished output:** Completed worksheets listing concrete answers across the six core question categories for the project record. ## Remote Display the core challenge on a central slide. Place participants into breakout rooms of 3 to 4 with edit access to a digital worksheet template containing the six question fields. In each room, members write simultaneously or designate a scribe. Reconvene the main room and invite up to three groups to paste their key finding into chat or unmute, ensuring all completed worksheets remain saved in the shared project folder. ## Hybrid In-person participants work in seated pods using printed sheets or local devices, while remote participants work in dedicated virtual breakout rooms using the digital worksheet template. During the work phase, remote and in-person groups work in parallel without cross-room audio interference. At the conclusion of drafting, in-person groups photograph or transcribe their sheets into the shared digital folder so remote participants can read them. Alternate between in-person and remote groups during the report-out. ## Access and participation choices - Participants may speak aloud, write directly on the shared sheet, or take quiet individual notes. - Subgroups or individuals may skip any specific question without giving a reason. ## If the session gets stuck **Groups give broad platitudes like 'everyone will use it' or 'it happens everywhere'.** Step in and ask for one specific person, location, or hour. For instance, ask: 'Who is one real person we can name?' **Teams get bogged down debating deep philosophical reasons under Why.** Remind them to timebox each question to roughly two minutes and record current working assumptions rather than seeking universal consensus. ## Terms used here - Kipling Method: An inquiry technique structured around the classic questions What, Where, When, How, Why, and Who, historically associated with Rudyard Kipling's 1902 poem. ## Participant material: Kipling Question Worksheet Project / Idea Under Review: ____________________________________ 1. WHAT - What exactly is the problem or idea? - What are we building, changing, or creating? 2. WHERE - Where does this problem occur? - Where will this solution live or be used? 3. WHEN - When does this happen, or when must this take place? - When will we know the problem has been addressed? 4. HOW - How does the issue currently happen? - How much time, cost, or effort is required to overcome it? 5. WHY - Why is this happening? - Why are we doing this instead of nothing? 6. WHO - Who is directly affected by this? - Who must be involved to implement the solution? ## Sources and adaptation Observed in Project of How (authored by Ola Möller), drawing on the standard 5W1H questioning framework historically attributed to Rudyard Kipling's 1902 poem. Retained the six core questions (What, Where, When, How, Why, Who), extended prompt questions, and concrete example framing from Project of How. Added defined group sizes with explicit remainder rules, strict step time breakdowns totaling 25 minutes, explicit hybrid and remote arrangements, integrated concrete examples directly into the opening script, clarified annotation instructions during reporting, and provided a standard printable worksheet. [Project of How](https://projectofhow.com/method/the-kipling-method/) Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/the-kipling-method-project-of-how/