Liberating Structures is a collection of 33 micromethods assembled by Keith McCandless and Henri Lipmanowicz. These micro-methods have been published on both the Liberating Structures website and in the Liberating Structures book.
We mention Liberating Structures here because they help change conventional work structures. This is important in almost all digital transformation projects. In the digital transformation, people have to work together who have often worked in established structures for a long time. The conventional structures in which people work together for long periods of time on a daily basis unintentionally suppress the involvement and commitment of stakeholders that is so important to the success of digital transformation.
The Liberating Structures start out pretty simple and basic that it almost seems doubtful that it’s even worth starting. And in the end, the result is so powerful and profound that you wonder how it could happen.
Liberating Structures are easy-to-learn micro-methods that improve trust in interactions. They encourage lived participation in groups of all sizes by making it possible to truly engage and unleash everyone. They are a good substitute for controlling or coercive approaches to solutions.
The 33 micro methods are:
- Impromptu Networking
- 1-2-4-All
- Conversation Café
- Speedboat
- What, So What, Now What? W³
- TRIZ
- 15% Solutions
- Troika Consulting
- Wise Crowds
- Integrated~Autonomy
- Simple Ethnography
- Shift & Share
- Ecocycle Planning
- Critical Uncertainties
- Users Experience Fishbowl
- Helping Heuristics
- Discovery & Action Dialogue (DAD)
- Open Space Technology
- Panarchy
- Nine Whys
- Generative Relationships STAR
- Min Specs
- Design storyboards
- Cover Story
- Drawing Together
- 10-20-30 Crowdsourcing
- Celebrity Interview
- Appreciative Interviews
- Social Network Webbing
- Wicked Questions
- Purpose-To-Practice (P2P)
- Troika with 25/10 Crowd Sourcing
- UX Fishbowl with 1-2-4-All
