Promises & Potential Map
The Promises & Potential Map is a two-by-two worksheet for placing each of an organisation's offerings and ideas by who it is for, existing or new users, and how new it is, an existing or a new offering. It comes from the DIY Toolkit, published by Nesta with STBY and Quicksand and supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, and was inspired by the Users & Offerings tool in IDEO's Human Centered Design Toolkit (2011). New ideas appear next to the promises already made, so a team can see how much stretch each idea demands and how the whole portfolio is spread.
Facilitation script
- 1
Introduce the two axes and the four corners using one example the group knows. Agree the working definition of an existing user and an existing offering.
8 min - 2
Collect current offerings on notes of one colour and ideas in development on notes of another. Split offerings with distinct parts into separate notes.
12 min - 3
Place the existing offerings first. For each note, answer the offering question, then the user question, then place it.
10 min - 4
Place the new ideas in the same way. Where people disagree, record both arguments and place the note on the border for now.
15 min - 5
Read the map. Discuss clusters, empty quadrants and the notes on borders. Talk through effort, risk and benefit for the ideas outside the incremental corner.
20 min - 6
Select the ideas to pursue, put them in order and assign an owner for the next step of each.
10 min
Tips
Judge the two axes one after the other and say the answer aloud before placing the note, otherwise ideas drift towards the corner the team finds most exciting.
Be strict about what counts as an existing user: people you know of are different from people you already serve.
The DIY Toolkit suggests filling the map in dialogue with colleagues, so ask front-line staff who know the users to join.
Common pitfalls
Calling an idea new because it is new to the team although users already get the same thing elsewhere, which overstates how distinctive the portfolio is
Leaving existing offerings off the map and placing only new ideas, so the comparison with current promises, the purpose of the tool, is lost
Reading the disruptive corner as the best place to be; it marks the highest uncertainty, and a portfolio that sits only there usually exceeds what a small organisation can deliver
Placing a broad programme as one note when its parts serve different users, which hides the real spread
Finishing with a filled map and no decision on what to take forward, so the exercise changes nothing
Variations
Used alone, the worksheet is a quick portfolio check for a founder or programme lead. As a brainstorming aid, start with only the existing offerings on the map and ask what could go in each empty quadrant. Remote teams can use a shared whiteboard version of the worksheet with colour-coded notes. A further option is to add a dot for expected effort to each note and discuss whether the overall load is realistic.
Where it fits
When to use it
A team has a batch of new ideas and needs to see how they relate to what the organisation already delivers
A non-profit or social enterprise wants to explain to funders or its board where its added value lies
You suspect the organisation is taking on too many completely new things for completely new groups at once
You are building a pipeline and need to balance safe improvements with riskier bets
A small organisation needs a portfolio view without a full strategy process
When not to use it
A commercial company is choosing a growth strategy across products and markets; the Ansoff Matrix covers the same two dimensions with the strategy and risk logic for each quadrant
You need to compare ideas by expected value and cost; use an Impact & Effort Matrix
You do not yet know who your users are or what they need; do user interviews or a Value Proposition Canvas first
You have a single idea to develop; the map only becomes useful with a set of offerings to compare
Related methods
Frequently asked questions
What is Promises & Potential Map?▾
It is a worksheet from the Nesta DIY Toolkit for mapping what an organisation does against who it does it for. Each offering or idea is placed on a two-by-two grid of existing or new offerings and existing or new users. The result shows how new ideas relate to current commitments and how much risk they carry.
What do the four quadrants mean?▾
Existing offerings for existing users are labelled incremental. New offerings for new users are labelled disruptive. The two mixed quadrants, a new offering for existing users or an existing offering for new users, are labelled evolutionary.
How is it different from the Ansoff Matrix?▾
The two grids share the same structure. The Ansoff Matrix comes from corporate strategy, speaks of products and markets and names a growth strategy for each quadrant. The Promises & Potential Map was written for social innovation and development work, speaks of users and offerings, and is used to place individual ideas next to existing commitments.
How long does the Promises & Potential Map take?▾
The toolkit gives no fixed time and suggests filling it in through dialogue with colleagues, possibly spread over a day. As a single workshop block, 45 to 90 minutes is a realistic estimate for a team with ten to twenty offerings and ideas.
Who created the Promises & Potential Map?▾
It is part of the DIY Toolkit (Development Impact & You), produced by Nesta in partnership with STBY and Quicksand with support from the Rockefeller Foundation. The toolkit names the Users & Offerings worksheet from IDEO's Human Centered Design Toolkit (2011) as its inspiration.
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Try it freeMethod descriptions on Workshop Weaver are original content written by our team, based on established facilitation practices. This method was inspired by work from Nesta DIY Toolkit (Development Impact & You); inspired by IDEO, Human Centered Design Toolkit (2011).