Method guide · Work with a structured grid
Design Storyboards
Connect a meeting's purpose, participation, activities, and records in a storyboard of up to six scenes.
- People
- 1–8
- Base procedure time
- 60 minutes
- Recording
- Shared record
Purpose: Make a decision; Build working relationships.
English guide
Text acceptance is not approval of this rendered page, its media, or publication.
How this method works
A method for laying out purpose, participation, structure, and records scene by scene, then testing how the facilitation connects. Use it when meetings are assembled from method names, the people who need to participate disappear from particular scenes, or one activity's outputs do not reach the next. Designers first define the evidence they want at the end and the participants they need, then put the action, number of people, time, and record together in each scene. Narrow handover cards specify the record to pass from one scene to the next and who is responsible. Remove scenes whose purpose, participation, and structure do not connect. The result is a storyboard of no more than six scenes, records to pass forward, responsible people, alternatives, and a way to check the outcome at the end. Do not use it to confirm delivery while the selected methods' rights or safety conditions remain unchecked, or as a guarantee of a detailed facilitation script.
Phase schedule
Minutes are cumulative from the start of the base plan, not a live timer. Read scaling for any additional time. Phase controls do not advance automatically.
Use the arrow keys, Home or End while these controls have focus. The complete phase schedule remains below, including without JavaScript.
- Define the endpoint0–10 minutes from the start (10 minutes)
Action: Define. Participation: Everyone.
Recording not separately specified for this phase
- Set participation conditions10–18 minutes from the start (8 minutes)
Action: Set. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
- Propose scenes18–30 minutes from the start (12 minutes)
Action: Propose. Participation: Individually.
Individual record
- Arrange the scenes30–50 minutes from the start (20 minutes)
Action: Arrange. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
- Test the connections50–60 minutes from the start (10 minutes)
Action: Test. Participation: Everyone.
Shared record
Facilitation steps
- For 10 minutes, write one sentence each for the meeting's purpose and the evidence that will be observable at the end, then place them at the storyboard's endpoint.
- For 8 minutes, list who needs to participate, who makes decisions, and who is affected, and record how absence will be handled.
- For 12 minutes, each person proposes up to 6 necessary scenes, putting the action, number of people, time, and record that remains on each card.
- For 10 minutes, arrange the scene cards from the start to the endpoint within 6 spaces, then remove one card where the same action occurs consecutively.
- For 10 minutes, place a handover card between adjacent scenes and write the record to pass forward and who is responsible.
- For 10 minutes, replace scenes where purpose, participation, or structure is disconnected with alternative-scene cards, then decide how to check the outcome.
If something changes
If
Six minutes after arranging scenes begins, 7 or more candidate cards remain.
Then
Move cards that do not contribute directly to the endpoint evidence to the alternatives area, leaving no more than 6 scenes in the main sequence.
If
Five minutes after checking connections begins, 2 or more handover cards have an empty record field.
Then
Specify one record that will be read, viewed, or used in the next scene, then add the same wording to the previous scene's record field.
Preparation
Materials
- One shared board with 6 scene spaces and fields for purpose, participation, structure, and records
- 6 scene cards per person
- 6 narrow handover cards for the group, with a field for the record to pass to the next scene
- 3 alternative-scene cards for the group
- One check sheet for the group, with a field for evidence at the end
- One dark-coloured pen per person
Room and setup
- One shared editing surface for the board, with the 6 scenes arranged horizontally
- One tabletop area per person for individual drafting
- Space equal to one third of the board's width for swapping scene cards and handover cards
Adjust for people and time
With 1 person, place the individual cards directly on the shared surface and check every item yourself. With 2–4 people, everyone edits one surface together. With 5–8 people, form up to 4 pairs. Each pair checks a different set of two adjacent scenes, then everyone integrates them into 6 scenes. Regardless of the number of people, use only one shared board and no more than 6 scene spaces.
Safety and non-applicable situations
Do not confirm delivery before checking the selected methods' rights and safety conditions. The storyboard does not guarantee a detailed facilitation script. Record how the absence of people who need to participate, decide, or are affected will be handled.
Historical translation and source notes
These original notes are retained verbatim with their fixed source versions. This historical label does not resolve a source-specific concern or establish current acceptance.
- The source says to form pairs with 5–8 participants but gives no remainder rule for 5 or 7 people. This draft does not add a trio, observer, or solo-review arrangement.
Manuscript's recorded references
These translate the original manuscript's source and rights claims. They remain separate from any current-page notice below; they do not establish new verification.
- Liberating Structures Fieldbook (2026): Design Storyboards — Henri Lipmanowicz / Keith McCandless / Nancy White
https://www.liberatingstructures.com/design-storyboards
Adaptation under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes made
- CC BY-SA 4.0
Current-page licence notice
This explanation is an adaptation for Taiwa no Fumen based on the official Liberating Structures page linked below. The manuscript's recorded references are listed separately from the web page checked on 17 October 2026.
Changes: the Japanese explanation and facilitation plan have been edited for Taiwa no Fumen. The English edition translates that Japanese manuscript; it is not a verbatim translation of the official page.
The LS-adapted text on this page, including this site's editorial and translation contributions, is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. When reusing it, credit the creators, identify the source and licence, indicate changes, and follow the licence's ShareAlike terms when sharing adaptations.
This site's notation diagrams and on-screen illustrations explain the facilitation process. They are not presented as official LS icons.
Method names are used to identify their sources. This is not an official LS website, and no endorsement or approval by the creators or rights holders is implied.
This notice does not grant blanket permission to reuse third-party photographs, logos or linked materials. Trademark, personality and other rights are addressed separately.
Materials created before June 2026 may carry different terms. Check the terms attached to an older item before reusing it.
To the extent permitted by law, the source materials and adaptations are provided without warranties. See the legal code for details.
Credits on the checked source page
- Developed by: Henri Lipmanowicz, Nancy White, Keith McCandless
Source page checked on 2026-10-17: Design Storyboards.
Source lineage
- Original repertoire (2013): Henri Lipmanowicz, Keith McCandless
- 2026 Fieldbook: Keith McCandless, Nancy White
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International · Legal code · Official source policy
This material-specific notice does not itself establish publication clearance. Preserved manuscript references above remain separate from the current page's credits and licence evidence.
Diagram, print, and video language
Original Japanese guide, diagram, and print view. Their labels and print text have not been translated; an English print edition is not provided here.
English video-library navigation. Original Japanese audio, subtitles and transcripts remain labelled Japanese resources. Their translations are separate later work. No remote player is embedded here.
The manual English phase controls are a navigation aid, not a live facilitation timer. Interactive diagram motion remains pending.
Editorial provenance
Japanese source status and logs are provenance only. They do not mean this English text or interface was field-tested. Historical fixed-text acceptance and hold records remain specific to their recorded versions; displaying them neither asserts current acceptance nor resolves source-specific restrictions.