Trade-offs in action
A remote web design team uses Trello to discuss their trade-offs on an upcoming project.
An IT team runs the Project Trade-Offs Analysis Play to prep for a project.
Business school students use Miro to discuss the trade-offs they’ll make on a group project.
What you'll need
Remote
Video conferencing with screen sharing
Digital collaboration tool (see template)
In-person
Meeting space
Whiteboard or large sheet of paper
Sticky notes
Markers
Optional templates
Atlassian Templates
Instructions for running this Play
1. Prepare your practice 10 MIN
If your team is remote, begin by creating a collaboration document or space — a Trello board is perfect for this. You can use the template provided, if you’d like, or create one of your own.
If your team is in-person, begin by finding a whiteboard or a large piece of paper and setting out sticky notes and markers in a meeting room.
Next, create a trade-offs list in your Trello board or document and add any constraints or variables your team needs to consider when working on the project.
Then, add five numbered lists to the board or paper: 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, with 1 being the most flexible and 5 being the least flexible.
Finally, add five numbered columns to the board or paper: 1 - most flexible, 2, 3, 4, and 5 - least flexible.
TIP: TRIPLE CONSTRAINTS
The most common trade-offs across projects and industries are:
- Time
- Scope
- Cost
EXAMPLE: LIST OF TRADE-OFFS
Here are some trade-offs that a web design team might weigh for an upcoming project.
2. Set the stage 5 MIN
Let the team know the following at the start of the meeting:
- The goal of this session is to come to an agreement on the project’s priorities so that when we need to make trade-offs, we’re in agreement about how to make them.
- Everyone should use their experience on past projects to inform their recommendations.
Getting everyone on the same page at the outset helps ensure a smooth meeting. You may also need to make sure everyone understands the process you’re about to go through — don’t assume everyone has done a trade-off analysis before!
3. Flex 10 MIN
Ask each team member to add a card or sticky note for each trade-off on a scale from 1 to 5. Cards or notes rated as “1” are the trade-offs with the most flexibility and those rated “5” have the least flexibility.
A flexible trade-off can be negotiated so the team can focus on higher priorities. For example:
- If there’s no deadline on the project, time is a 1 — other things are a higher priority, even if they require the timeline to be extended.
- If there’s a strict budget, cost is a 5 — the cost can't increase, even if that means that it takes longer or the scope has to be reduced.
Make sure team members put their names on their ratings so everyone is aware of how different team members view the trade-offs. The idea here is not to call people out, but to foster open discussion around why a given trade-off gets the rating it does. For example, someone might have some insight into why cost should be less flexible, and that should be shared (that’s the next step!).
TIP: INTERDEPENDENCIES
Trade-offs have an interdependent relationship. Spending more time and effort on one often comes at the expense of another.
4. Discuss 20 MIN
Once everyone has put in their initial ratings, take a look at where the trade-offs fall on your scale of 1-5. Discuss any clear themes or commonalities where multiple team members gave a trade-off the same rating.
Then move on to any trade-offs with different ratings. Discuss each team member’s reasoning for the placement, and make notes of any useful feedback.
TIP: INFLEXIBLE
If everything is in the “least flexible” list, ask:
- Which has the most customer benefit?
- Which one aligns most with company values?
If everything is the highest priority, then nothing is. Hierarchies often require tough choices.
5. Update 5 MIN
As you discuss trade-offs and reach a consensus on their flexibility, move the cards or sticky notes to the appropriate list to reflect the updated trade-offs.
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EXAMPLE: THE END
Here’s an example of a trade-offs session captured on Miro, after the team has reached consensus.
Follow-up
Document
Capture the information from this Play in a file-sharing space, such as a Confluence space, where the team and stakeholders can see and revisit if questions about trade-offs arise. This can help cut down on unnecessary questions and back-and-forth down the road.
Revisit
Revisit this Play if new information comes up and your priorities need to change. Run this Play periodically to ensure the team stays aligned on trade-offs. Large groups or remote and hybrid teams especially face a greater chance of priorities drifting.
Variations
Leadership team
If the ultimate say in trade-offs for the project lies in your leadership team, run the Play with project leaders or business stakeholders rather than the team who is executing the work.
If your team has the ultimate say in trade-offs, you might still consider running the Play with leadership and executing teams separately and comparing results — this could highlight important areas of disconnect.
Walk the board
Instead of going person by person, go through your work board item by item. Start with any items that are blocked and discuss how to get them unblocked. Then go through each remaining item to discuss how to complete them.
One at a time
Rather than discussing all trade-offs at once, introduce them one at a time and discuss each ranking before moving on to the next to ensure focused attention. Seeing how or if your rankings change as each new trade-off is added can be illuminating.
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