Rose, Thorn, Bud and Affinity Cluster are classic and versatile design thinking exercises that enable teams to gather and discuss the current state of projects or activities and evaluate what is working, what is not and where opportunities lie.

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We have designed this template for you to be able to run a workshop with your team, describing step by step what you need to do to facilitate it.

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These two methods are used when you are seeking insights from existing experiences to discover patterns and connections to guide positive actions.

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1. Identify the matter or topic that you want to consider

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Form a challenge statement or question. How you frame the topic has an impact on how easily your group will generate observations. Example: What is the current state of ...

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2. Build a team

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Assemble a diverse group of stakeholders.

• Gather a diverse group

• Make sure you explain the colour code

• Aim to have at least two observations per colour

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3. Remember to add one observation per note

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Allow the group to work individually for a few minutes, then read the observations one by one and encourage an open discussion. Always try to stick to the schedule and set a timer also for open discussion.

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4. Colour Code

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Stick to these three colours as each of them has a specific meaning:

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5. Affinity Cluster

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Take turns reading out the stickies one at a time and explain what it means to you - discuss with and ask each other questions. If you have a similar idea to the one that is placed on the board then add stickies nearby and share briefly why they are related. Continue until everyone's note is grouped.

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6. Observe Existing Groups

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Observe existing groups. Try not to have more than 5 observations per group. Consider dividing them up into smaller groups. If there are a lot of observations on one topic, there you can definitely find invaluable insights.

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7. Label the different groups.

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Observations about the recently-implemented app are grouped and labelled with a top-level remark.

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8. Create Relationships

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When you have your groups formed and labelled, you can add more value to the observations by explaining and labelling the connections between the groups.

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Next steps

• Are there any actions that you can take?
• Is there additional learning that you can do around the subject?