# Storyboard the Journey — Facilitator Guide

> Folder: `storyboard-the-journey` · Category: creativity · 4–12 people · 25 min · offline + online · print props · tool pack
> License: CC BY 4.0

A group draws a person's end-to-end experience as a strip of storyboard panels — what they do, see, feel at each step — then marks every panel with a high, a low, and a hope. The wall becomes one shared map of the journey: not a list of features, but where the experience actually rises and falls, and where a small change would land. **Unlike a feature backlog that flattens every step into equal priority, this strip makes the shape of the experience visible — the dip nobody owned is usually the fix.**

## Objectives

By the end of the activity, participants will have:

1. Drawn one named person's end-to-end journey as a strip of rough panels — what they do, see, feel at each step.
2. Marked every panel with a high, a low and a hope, and drawn the experience line through them.
3. Circled the two or three dips worth a move, and named who could own the change.

## When to use this activity

- A team optimises pieces (a screen, a form, a policy) without ever seeing the whole arc the person moves through.
- You want a shared, concrete picture of an experience before you argue about fixes.
- You have 4–12 people and 25 minutes; it works on a shared board online.

## The three marks per panel

| Mark | Looks like | Why |
|---|---|---|
| High ⛰ | A moment the person would happily relive | Protect it; don't optimise it away. |
| Low ⚡ | Where effort spikes or trust drops | The dip nobody owned is usually the fix. |
| Hope ✦ | What they wish happened next | The seed of a design move, from their side. |

## Setup

**Clock:** 25 minutes total — bound 3, panel 9, mark 7, cluster 4, name the move 2.

**Space:** a long wall or shared board that holds a left-to-right row of panels, with room to draw the experience line under them.

**Materials per person:**

| Item | Source |
|---|---|
| Blank panel cards (one per step) | any index-card stock or sticky notes |
| Markers | bring your own |

**Materials for the room:** the three mark cards (High / Low / Hope) from `storyboard-the-journey-prop-cards.pdf`, and the A3 poster up on the wall.

**Grouping:** 4–12 people; one named person and one journey at a time. A second strip beats arguing over one.

**Roles:** the group draws and marks; you bound the journey, keep the sketches rough, and force the line through the highs and lows.

## How to run it

| Time | Phase | Facilitator does | Participants do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0–3 | Bound it | Name one person and one journey — first-timer onboarding, a return, a complaint. Agree the start and end. | Suggest the person; confirm the journey boundaries |
| 3–12 | Panel it | Across a row of panels, draw/write what they do, see, feel at each step, left to right. Fast, rough sketches only. | Draw panels; write what the person does/sees/feels at each step |
| 12–19 | Mark it | On each panel add a high, a low, a hope. Then draw the experience line through the highs and lows. | Mark each panel; draw the line together |
| 19–23 | Cluster | Look where the line dips hardest and where hopes pile up. Circle the two or three places worth a move. | Discuss the shape; circle the dips and hope clusters |
| 23–25 | Name the move | For each circle: who could own a change, and what it would take. | Name an owner and a first step for each circled dip |

## Why draw the line

Listing steps flattens everything into equal boxes. Drawing the highs and lows as a line makes the shape of the experience visible — the shape usually points at one neglected valley between two fine steps, which no feature list would ever show.

## The card

Use the faces from `storyboard-the-journey-prop-cards.pdf`: the three mark cards (High ⛰ / Low ⚡ / Hope ✦), a blank panel card, and a "draw the line" card. The mark cards are what the strip standardises — so two people don't quietly define "low" differently.

## Failure modes

1. **It becomes a feature wishlist.** Every panel must be something the person does/feels, not something you'll build. Rescue: pull hopes back to moments — "what does the person wish happened *next*, not what do we ship?"
2. **The team draws their process, not the person's journey.** Internal handoffs creep in. Rescue: anchor on one named person; if it's an internal handoff, it's off the map.
3. **Only the loudest journey wins.** One persona dominates and the others never get drawn. Rescue: bound one journey at a time; a second strip beats arguing over one.
4. **The line stays flat.** Every panel gets the same marks and the shape says nothing. Rescue: force a ranking — "which panel is the *hardest* low? Which is the *brightest* high?" The extremes make the line speak.

## Variations

- **Remote:** one shared board, everyone drawing into the same strip live; the line is drawn together at the end.
- **Two journeys side by side:** run a first-timer and a returning user on parallel strips to see where the arcs diverge.
- **Service vs product:** bound the journey to a service encounter or a product flow — same strip, different read on the dips.
- **Longer (40 min):** after clustering, take one circled dip straight into a quick "how might we" sketch.

## Facilitation notes

- The strongest moment is seeing a big dip nobody had owned because each team only saw their own box.
- Keep sketches rough; polish slows the map and shifts attention to drawing skill, not the journey.

## Put it on the wall

Print `storyboard-the-journey-activity-poster.pdf` (A3) to put the run of show, the three marks and the "draw the line" prompt on one wall while you facilitate.

## Props in this folder

- `storyboard-the-journey-prop-cards.pdf` — poker-spec print sheet (63.5 × 88.9 mm, bleed and cut guides): three mark cards (High / Low / Hope), a blank panel card, a "draw the line" card, branded backs
- `storyboard-the-journey-run-sheet.pdf` — the print edition: this run sheet + the debrief, bound as one A4 document with bookmarks (`-Letter.pdf` is US Letter)
- `storyboard-the-journey-activity-poster.pdf` — the whole journey map on one A3 wall sheet
- `storyboard-the-journey-guide.md` · `-debrief.md` · `-start-here.md` — the facilitator guide, the debrief, the one-page start here
- `storyboard-the-journey-license.md` — what you may do
- `SKILL.md` · `storyboard-the-journey.zip` — the machine-readable manifest, and the whole folder in one download

## Agent version

Every file in this folder has a stable public URL — an AI agent can fetch the cards, the debrief and this run sheet with three curl commands (see `SKILL.md`). The paper version needs nothing but a long wall, blank panel cards and markers.