Participatory Methods

The Ladder of Abstraction

The Ladder of Abstraction is a collaborative activity that helps participants rethink and reframe a problem by zooming in or out on its scope. This method encourages clearer understanding of a challenge, helping teams identify more effective solutions.

The exercise is based on two key questions:

  1. Why? – To broaden the focus and analyze the problem from a more general perspective.
  2. How? – To narrow the focus and turn the problem into a more concrete and manageable challenge.

It is especially useful in innovation processes, problem-solving, and participatory design.

Preparation

  1. Define the purpose:
    • Explore a problem from different perspectives.
    • Identify the most suitable formulation to address the challenge.
    • Encourage strategic thinking and collaboration.
  2. Prepare materials:
    • Worksheets with a drawn ladder (with blank steps).
    • Pencils, pens, or markers.
    • Whiteboards or flipcharts (optional, for sharing examples or reflections).
  3. Set up the space:
    • Create an environment that supports both individual reflection and group discussion.
  4. To run the activity virtually:
    • Use collaborative platforms that support digital whiteboards or shared documents in real time.

Step-by-step instructions

  1. Introduce the activity:
    • Explain that the goal is to explore a problem from different levels of abstraction using the questions Why? and How?.
    • Emphasize the value of expansive thinking and the importance of avoiding immediate leaps to specific solutions.
  2. Define the initial problem:
    • Ask participants to write down a relevant problem or challenge they are facing.
    • Place this statement in the center step of the ladder.
  3. Broaden the focus (Why?):
    • Ask Why is this problem important? and write the answer on a higher step.
    • Continue asking Why? to reach a more general and visionary level of understanding.
  4. Narrow the focus (How?):
    • Ask How can we address this problem? and write the answer on a lower step.
    • Continue asking How? to move toward a more specific and practical approach.
  5. Evaluate the options:
    • Review the statements across the different levels of the ladder.
    • Select the formulation that best combines practical focus with strategic vision.
Recommendations
  • Provide clear examples to inspire participants to reframe their problems.
  • Facilitate group discussion to build a shared understanding of the challenges.
  • Include time for reflection on the insights gained from the activity.
  • Balance exploration between broad and specific levels to ensure well-rounded solutions.
Inspiration

Uses of the activity

  • Priority setting: Helps teams identify key issues and prioritize them in business or community projects.
  • Conflict resolution: Allows exploration of root causes and potential practical solutions.
  • Strategic planning: Supports focus on general goals and specific actions to achieve them.
  • Innovation and design: Stimulates new ideas by reframing challenges from different perspectives.
  • Decision-making: Provides a structure to break down complex problems before deciding.
  • Education: Helps students and educators analyze educational issues from both broad and specific angles.
  • Participatory evaluation: Supports the review of ongoing projects or processes to detect areas for improvement.
  • Organizational communication: Improves shared understanding of challenges in interdisciplinary teams.
  • Civic engagement: Identifies community issues and builds a clear path to address them.
  • Sustainability: Explores environmental challenges from structural causes to practical actions.

Guiding questions

  • To broaden the focus (Why?):
    • Why is solving this problem important?
    • Why does this challenge persist?
    • Why does it affect us and others?
    • Why is this issue connected to other topics?
    • Why should we allocate resources to this now?
  • To narrow the focus (How?):
    • How can we address this problem practically?
    • How do we know this is the best solution?
    • How can we break this challenge into manageable parts?
    • How can we measure success in this case?
    • How can we involve stakeholders in the solution?
  • For reflection:
    • What have we learned by expanding or narrowing the problem?
    • What factors might we have overlooked?
    • How would our perception of the problem change from another perspective?

Activity variations

  • Group ladder: Instead of working individually, teams build a shared ladder through consensus.
  • Comparison of ladders: After completing the ladder, participants swap worksheets and discuss the differences in perspective.
  • Reverse ladder: Start with an existing solution and work backward to uncover the underlying problem.
  • Role-based structure: Assign specific roles such as moderator, “Why” analyst, and “How” analyst to better organize the discussion.
  • Link with visualization: Complement the ladder with cause-effect diagrams to explore connections and interactions.
  • Thematic focus: Use specific themes like leadership, innovation, or sustainability to direct the exercise.
  • Team competition: Each group builds the most comprehensive and actionable ladder within a set time limit.
  • Creative elements: Ask participants to draw images or diagrams representing each level of the ladder.
  • Staged reflection: Divide the process into phases and reflect on each level before continuing to the next.
  • Practical application: After the activity, teams select one immediate action based on their ladder results.
Materials
  • Abstraction ladder worksheets.
  • Markers or pens.
  • Whiteboards or flipcharts (optional).
Online platforms
Purpose
The purpose of the Ladder of Abstraction is to help participants explore a problem from different levels of focus in order to identify innovative and strategic solutions while fostering collective reflection.
Type of activity
Collective ReflectionParticipatory DesignParticipatory Planning
Level of participation
Collaboration, Knowledge generation, Exchange of perspectives
Target audience
Educators, Facilitators, Students, Community leaders, NGOs and social collectives, Business teams, Government, Creative designers, Researchers
Fields of application
Education and training, Community development, Organizational and business management, Urban and rural planning, Health and social well-being, Art, culture, and creativity, Sustainability and environment, Public policies and governance, Innovation and design, Research and evaluation, Conflict resolution, Technology and digital environments, Citizen and social participation
Estimated duration
5-60 minutes.
Ideal number of participants
10-20 people.
Topics related to this activity
Collaborative DesignCollaborative InnovationCreative Problem SolvingDesign ThinkingGroup CreativityInnovative SolutionsParticipatory InnovationPractical CreativityProblem SolvingSolution Generation
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