Templates · Ideas & planning
Pros and Cons
Put the arguments for and against one option side by side, so the team decides with both in view.
- Pros Arguments for the option — benefits, not hopes
- Cons Costs, risks and what the option locks the team into
What it is
A decision aid for a single option. The team states the proposal in one sentence, then lists the arguments for it and the arguments against it in two columns before it decides.
Goal
A decision the team can explain, taken with the arguments of both sides in front of everyone. Failing that, a clear idea of what is missing in order to decide.
When to use it
- One proposal is on the table: adopt a tool, change the length of the sprint, split a team, rewrite a component.
- The discussion has gone round several times and the same people repeat the same arguments.
- A few voices dominate. Writing first gives the quieter members the same space.
- Before committing to something that will be hard to undo.
When to pick another format
Two columns hold one option. With several candidates, narrow them down with Dot Voting and weigh the finalists one at a time. When the question depends on what happens outside the team as much as inside it, SWOT Analysis keeps the two apart. When the decision is taken and the worry is how it could go wrong, run a Pre-mortem.
How to run it
Write the option as one sentence that everyone accepts as a fair description, and say what not doing it means, since that is the real alternative.
- Pros: ask for benefits, not hopes. What would be better, for whom, and how would the team notice? One argument per card. Ask everyone to write here, the sceptics included.
- Cons: ask for the costs, the risks, and what the option locks the team into: what becomes harder to change afterwards? Ask the supporters to write here too.
Merge the duplicates, then vote for the arguments that weigh most, on either side: the vote is on arguments, not on the option. The number of cards proves nothing, since one heavy objection can outweigh a column of small advantages.
Discuss the leading arguments of each column, then decide: yes, no, or yes on a condition. Record the decision as an action with an owner. If the group cannot decide, name the information that is missing and who will get it.
Columns
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Pros | Arguments for the option — benefits, not hopes |
| Cons | Costs, risks and what the option locks the team into |
To start a retrospective from this template, see Create a retro.