Ensuring the who, what, when, where, how, and why
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The Kipling List is taken from a very short poem by Rudyard Kipling: “I had six serving men, they taught me all I knew, there names were What and Where and How, and Why and When and Who”.
And that is all the Kipling List is. Six areas to explore different facets of a situation, for example in problem solving. Or, as a planning tool, to develop robust strategies.
These six ‘questions’ are also known as the 5Ws and H, or the journalists’ questions. This is because they reflect the six key questions a story should cover. From a business perspective, they help to ensure that all the loopholes are covered.
As a Template, the Kipling List encourages groups to explore the areas simultaneously. Engaging them to participate collectively in developing a clear and agreed picture.
The video on the right provides a graphic illustration of the tool and its benefits and shows its working in Google Jamboard. You can access the Google Jamboard template via this link.
Jamboard is slightly simpler to use than the template below. It is therefore more suited to those currently unfamiliar with whiteboarding. But in order to achieve this, it has had to restrict itself on functionality. That said, it is more than sufficient for most people starting out.
Clicking the instant template below will open up as a live interactive tool in your browser. Simply copy its URL from the address bar on the page that opens and share it through your meeting chat with your team. They will instantly be able to participate with you by: adding their thoughts via sticky notes; seeing all that’s going on, and moving things around. For more on instant templates, click here.
Track your progress to ensure the efficacy of this strategy.