Overview

This guide will help you facilitate a Values Mapping Workshop, a collaborative session designed to identify, articulate, and prioritize the core values that guide your team's design decisions.

Duration: 2-2.5 hours
Participants: Cross-functional team (designers, developers, product managers, leadership)
Purpose: To identify and align on the fundamental values that should inform your design principles

Pre-Workshop Preparation

1. Set the context

   • Define what you mean by "design values" (e.g., fundamental beliefs that guide decision-making)

   • Determine if you're focusing on current values (what actually guides decisions today) or aspirational values (what should guide decisions going forward)

   • Consider how these values will feed into your broader design principles or manifesto development

2. Gather inspiration (optional)

   • Collect examples of values from admired companies or products

   • Prepare 3-5 examples to share as reference points, not to copy

   • Consider reviewing previous user research for insights about what users value

3. Prepare workshop materials

   • Large sticky notes (at least 10 per participant)

   • Regular sticky notes for grouping and voting

   • Markers for everyone

   • Large wall space or digital board

   • Value description templates

   • Voting dots (5-7 per person)

   • Timer

4. Plan your space

   • Ensure ample wall space for posting and clustering sticky notes

   • For remote sessions, prepare a digital board (Miro, Mural, FigJam, etc.)

   • Set up distinct areas for individual work, clustering, and final values

Workshop Flow

1. Introduction (15 minutes)

• Welcome participants and explain the workshop purpose:

  • "We're here to identify and articulate the values that guide our design decisions"

  • "These values will serve as the foundation for our design principles"

  • "Values reflect what we believe is important in design and why we make certain choices"

• Set ground rules:

  • Everyone's input is valuable

  • Aim for clarity and specificity

  • Focus on values, not implementation details

  • Balance current reality with aspiration

• Explain the workshop flow and expected outcomes

• Share examples of strong values from other organizations (optional)

2. Individual Values Identification (20 minutes)

• Provide each participant with sticky notes and markers

• Ask them to individually write down what they believe are the most important qualities in your team's design approach

• Prompt with questions:

  • "What makes our best work successful?"

  • "What qualities do you advocate for in design discussions?"

  • "What design characteristics are non-negotiable for you?"

  • "What values do you think set our approach apart?"

• Instruct participants to:

  • Write one value per sticky note

  • Write clearly and in large letters

  • Include a brief phrase explaining why this value matters

  • Aim for 7-10 values each

• Encourage both current strengths and aspirational values

• Remind them to focus on the "why" not just the "what"

3. Small Group Synthesis (30 minutes)

• Divide participants into small groups (3-4 people)

• Have each person briefly share their values with their group

• Ask groups to:

  • Look for common themes and similar values

  • Cluster related sticky notes together

  • Create combined or refined value statements for each cluster

  • Prioritize their top 5-7 value clusters

• Each group should prepare to present their synthesized values

• Encourage groups to discuss why certain values resonated with multiple members

4. Group Sharing (25 minutes)

• Have each small group present their prioritized values (3-4 minutes per group)

• Ask them to explain:

  • The key values they identified

  • Why these values matter

  • How these values are (or should be) reflected in your work

• As groups present, note similarities and differences between groups

• Encourage questions for clarification but save deeper discussion for later

5. Collective Synthesis (40 minutes)

• Bring all groups' value statements to a central wall or board

• Facilitate a full-group discussion to:

  • Identify overlapping or similar values across groups

  • Cluster related values together

  • Name each major value cluster

  • Discuss any significant differences between groups and explore why

• Guide discussion toward a unified set of values, but be open to productive tensions

• Aim for 5-8 distinct value clusters

• For each final value cluster:

  • Draft a clear, concise name (1-3 words)

  • Create a brief description (1-2 sentences)

  • Note key examples of how this value has appeared in your work

6. Prioritization (20 minutes)

• Discuss the relative importance of each value

• Options for prioritization:

  • Dot voting (give each person 5 dots to place on their most important values)

  • Forced ranking (collectively rank values from most to least important)

  • Impact/Difficulty matrix (plot values based on potential impact and difficulty to implement)

• Facilitate discussion about the results

• Aim for a clear understanding of your top 3-5 core values

• Note: It's not about eliminating values but understanding their relative importance

7. Next Steps and Closing (15 minutes)

• Summarize the identified values and priorities

• Explain how these values will inform your design principles

• Discuss concrete next steps:

  • Who will document the values

  • How they will be shared with the wider team

  • When you'll meet to develop principles based on these values

  • How you'll test these values against real design decisions

• Thank participants for their contributions

• Consider a quick reflection round: "What was most valuable about this exercise?"

Facilitation Techniques

Setting the Tone

• Emphasize that this is about discovering existing values, not imposing new ones

• Encourage authenticity rather than aspirational corporate-speak

• Model open-mindedness and curiosity about different perspectives

• Remind participants that strong values have trade-offs

Guiding Value Identification

• Help participants move beyond generic terms to specific expressions

• When you see vague values (e.g., "user-friendly"), ask "What does that mean to us specifically?"

• Look for values that are distinctive to your team, not universal truths

• Encourage participants to think about what they actually advocate for in real design discussions

Managing Group Dynamics

• Ensure all voices are heard, especially during small group work

• Watch for and address dominant voices

• Encourage building on others' ideas

• Look for participants who may be holding back and create space for their input

• Acknowledge tensions between different values as natural and productive

Focusing on Quality

• Push for specificity in value descriptions

• Test proposed values by asking: "Would we ever deliberately choose not to follow this value?"

• Look for values that help make tough trade-off decisions

• Encourage examples of values in action

Common Challenges and Responses

Challenge: Too many generic values

Response: "These are all good qualities, but which ones truly distinguish our approach? Which ones would we prioritize when they conflict with each other?"

Challenge: Difficulty articulating implicit values

Response: "Let's think about recent design decisions where there was debate. What underlying values were people advocating for in those discussions?"

Challenge: Too much focus on technical implementation

Response: "That speaks to how we work, but let's go deeper to the why. What value is driving that approach?"

Challenge: Disagreement on key values

Response: "This disagreement is actually valuable information. It might indicate we have different perspectives on what matters most. Let's explore this tension rather than rush to resolve it."

Challenge: Everything seems important

Response: "All of these are important, but if we had to focus our energy on just 3-5 values that would have the biggest impact on our work, which would they be?"

Post-Workshop Follow-up

1. Documentation

   • Compile all identified values with descriptions and examples

   • Create a clean, visual representation of the prioritized values

   • Share with all participants within 48 hours

   • Include concrete next steps

2. Validation

   • Test the values against recent design decisions

   • Share with stakeholders not present for input

   • Refine language for clarity and accuracy

3. Integration

   • Use values as foundation for design principles workshop

   • Begin referencing values in design discussions

   • Create visual reminders of values in work spaces

   • Develop a plan for socializing values with wider organization

4. Ongoing Development

   • Schedule regular check-ins (quarterly/semi-annually) to assess if values still align with practice

   • Be open to evolving values as team and product mature

   • Collect examples of values in action for ongoing inspiration