How It Started
On 28 July 2022, I led our first Scenario Thinking exercise within our team. This was a personal experiment to introduce FT into my work.
"Scenarios are stories about how the future environment might unfold for our organizations, our issues, our nations, and even our world. They are not predictions, but rather act as plausible descriptions of what could happen. They are stories built around carefully constructed plots, based on drivers, events and ‘trends’.
TOPIC
Sustainability
OBJECTIVE
Explore the scenarios you create with the cards, and use those scenarios to unlock new opportunities for our company.
Process
Together with my interns, Claira and Basil, we begun with a Horizon Scan of trends and driving forces on sustainability relating to robotics.
There were many existing FT card games in the market, designed to gently guide people into creating Scenarios. Hence, I did not want to reinvent the wheel.
Instead, we combined elements from The Thing From the Future by Situation Lab and Decode the Future by FTI. I chose to anchor the exercise on FTI’s game as their concept was beginner friendly with prompting questions that were relevant for companies to reflect on.
Screen grab of the worksheet from FTI. It is free to download.
Using the deck from FTI as the base, we curated the cards according to our needs:
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"Technology Cards" : Narrowed based on the Horizon Scan. They are trends or drivers that are emerging/existing/disruptive.
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"Situation Cards" : Speculative context that might change our way of life.
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"Stakeholder Cards" : Roles that could influence the future. These were adjusted to include roles from our team, to help consider different view points.
From Situation Lab, I took the "Arc Cards" that was built on the four futures model by Jim Dator. They outline the type of future. I felt it was important to apply it as a way to allow the participants to imagine from different perspectives.
Cards based on Horizon Scanning of technology trends and drivers.
Speculative contexts revolving around 'Sustainability'.
Outlines the type of future world and how far it is away from today.
Cards based on Horizon Scanning of technology trends and drivers.
RULES OF THE GAME
An example of the gameplay.
Step 1
Select a card from each deck
Step 2
Combine 'technology' and 'stakeholder' cards. For eg, how might a HACKER use SYNTHETIC MEDIA?
Step 3
Apply the ideas to the 'situation' and 'arc' cards as scenarios
Step 4
After coming up with different scenarios, think about what this would mean for your organisation.
TIMER SET FOR 30 MINS, LET'S GO!
Results: Gameplay Output
Below, you will find the first scribbles and ideation from the teams. I took these initial thoughts and further ideated on the stories.
Group 1: 4D Printing + Extreme Weather
Group 2: Miniature Drone + Urban Farming
Scenario 1: Fast (Climate) Fashion
It’s the year 2032, humans have failed to mitigate the effects of climate change. The weather conditions, once seen as extreme, is now normalised. Humanity has learnt how to adapt, no one panics when it hails or starts to flood. Places of living and work have been re-engineered to acclimatise to the increasingly extreme weather.
The weather in a typical week (Image created with dream.ai)
A weatherman presenting on the human jam of paddle boarders on a rush hour morning (Image created with deepai.org)
YOUR SHAPESHIFTING SNEAKERS, PERFECT FOR ANY FLOOD
This month, many of the big fast-fashion houses have rolled out their latest collection of weather-proofed clothing. Tonight, sneaker brand KARA, launches Collection S. Made from 4D printing, that morphs according to temperature, humans no longer need to scramble when the next flood hits!
Shapeshifting shoes in 2032 (Image created with DALL-E)
Scenario 2: Buzz Off Bees
In the year 2032, climate change has taken a toll on pollinators. Prolonged droughts and extreme heat have cost the death of many insect biodiversity, particularly butterflies and bees. Food systems become unreliable with severe food shortages.
In such difficult situations, scientists have discovered new technology in artificial intelligence and micro robots that mimic movement and manipulate insects’ behaviour.
ROBO-BEES, THE GIFT OF NATURE
This Christmas, let your children experience nature. Build their own garden and taste the fruits of their labour in just 2 weeks! The robot bee set comes inbuilt with the latest vibration technology that speeds up pollination without damaging the flowers. Seeds sold separately.
Drone bees for home (Image created with DALL-E and dream.ai)
Reflections
These are simply explorations of the worlds we may slowly enter into and how design and engineering can come together to develop new services or products that are needed in the future.