How to start?
Last time, we walked through the "enforcing timeline" step of Big Picture Event Storming. To begin, we need to choose the first event — but a simple "Let's start" is easier said than done. Let’s explore a few different approaches for deciding which event (or events) we should start with, along with their respective pros and cons.
All approaches can be divided into two categories:
Close collaboration — everyone works together all the time.
Working in silos — people work alone or in smaller groups and merge their outcomes later.
Strategy 1. Pick Any Event
You simply pick any event from the group you have created so far and place it on the timeline. Then you take another one and, together with the group, decide where it should go chronologically.
Pros:
Quick to start.
Requires no upfront discussion.
Cons:
You might spend a lot of time on the least important events.
You may run out of time to discuss the most crucial events.
Strategy 2. One Event per Person
You ask each participant to choose one event from the wall. Then you can either:
Pick any of these and start.
Vote to select the starting event, but only from the chosen subset.
Have a short discussion to agree on which event to begin with.
Pros:
Starts with events that someone considers important.
Does not consume much time.
Cons:
There's a risk that important events may be missed during selection.
Strategy 3. Ask People to Vote
You ask participants to vote on the most important events. There are several ways to handle voting:
Unlimited votes — vote for as many events as you want.
Limited votes — you can vote for only X events.
Limited votes with multiple voting — you can cast X votes and allocate them freely (e.g., multiple votes on one event).
Once everyone has voted, you can prioritize events based on the number of votes and start with those that received the most.
Pros:
You start with events recognized as important by the group.
Events are visibly prioritized by importance.
Cons:
Can be time-consuming, especially with unlimited votes.
Strategy 4. Let People Organize Events Themselves
Another way to kick off is to let participants organize the timeline themselves. Everyone can move any sticky note to the timeline. If someone notices a sticky note in a place they disagree with, they create a hotspot for later discussion.
Pros:
Fast start.
Parallel work speeds up the process of placing events on the timeline.
Cons:
Requires an additional walkthrough after placing to ensure everyone understands the overall structure.
Requires discussions over hotspots created when people moved sticky notes on their own.
Strategy 5. Divide into Groups and Merge Later
You can also split participants into groups and let each group put sticky notes on the timeline together. There are many ways to do this: you can divide events randomly or group related events together. You can let groups use the same timeline and create hotspots as before, or create multiple timelines and merge them later.
Pros:
Allows close collaboration but faster than having everyone work together.
Increases engagement, as people tend to be more open in smaller groups.
Cons:
Requires an additional walkthrough to align everyone.
Discussions over newly created hotspots are needed.
Requires merging each group’s work into one consolidated picture.
Have you picked your first event yet?
As you can see, the concept itself is not complex - just pick an event, place it on timeline and repeat. However, since you work with human beings, keeping them focused and engaged is critical. Being aware of these different ways to kick off the timeline stage can help you choose the approach best suited to your group and context.
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