Help

How do I access the ParEvo app?

Email rick.davies@gmail.com and ask for the link to the ParEvo web app.  Click on the supplied link and apply to facilitate a ParEvo exercise using a registration form available there.

What do these different words mean?

• Scenarios: These are “…defined broadly as an internally consistent description of a plausible or possible future state of a system (e.g. a country, a society, a group, a location)” Also described as a storyline within ParEvo.
• Exercise: A complete ParEvo scenario planning process, involving a number of iterations
• Iteration: The repetition of a short sequence of events in a ParEvo exercise.
  • Participants view all participants’ Contributions made in the previous iteration
  • Participants add a new Contribution to their most preferred storyline
  • All new Contributions are then made visible to all participants
  • Participants Comment on any of these contributions, as they choose

• Storyline: A sequence of text Contributions that spell out what happens over a period of time. Also known as a scenario.
• Seed: The first text, being the starting point of a number of storylines in a ParEvo exercise. Usually provided by the Facilitator

• Contribution: The text that participants choose to add to an existing storyline. This will usually have a size limit
• Comment: As in blog comments, an opinion expressed about a storyline, or specific contribution to a storyline
• Evaluation: The final stage of the exercise, when participants can assess the surviving stories on multiple criteria

• Facilitator: The person initiating a ParEvo exercise, choosing who will participate and managing the whole process, from beginning to end
• Participant: The persons who are developing the storylines, by adding new text to existing storylines, according to their own preferences
• Administrator: The person who authorises Facilitators to use ParEvo and who controls the available settings. The Administrator can also provide technical support to Facilitators.

• Forecasting: Open ended exploration of what might happen in the future. Only the present is pre-defined (by the seed text)
• Backcasting: Exploration of the different ways a specific event in the future might happen, given where we are at present. An expected end state is predefined by the Facilitator.

I am a Facilitator, what can I do?

1. Define the objectives of a ParEvo exercise
2. Invite people to participate in a ParEvo exercise
3. Draft a code of conduct appropriate to the purpose of the exercise
4. Write the Seed text that starts a ParEvo exercise
5. Invite participants to take part in the first iteration, where they add a text to the seed, describing what they think happens next
   1. Include a description of the imagined or factual context for this exercise
   2. Describe other important features of this exercise, which participants need to be aware of, and which can relate to points below
6. Define how many iterations will be completed, or leave this undefined
7. Define whether an iteration refers to a specific time period, or not
8. Define the maximum length of any contribution or comment
9. Delete, but not edit, any contributions or comments that breach the code of conduct
10. Notify participants of when each subsequent iteration is opening and closing
    1. And when participants need to make their contributions or comments
11. Set the criteria to be used in the evaluation of storylines
12. Define who can participate in the Comment stage, and/or the Evaluation stage

I am a Participant, what can I do?

1. Agree to behavior expectations spelled out by the facilitator, prior to participating in an exercise
2. Make one contribution per iteration, extending the story-line of your choice
3. After all participants have made a contribution during a given iteration, you can comment on any of the contributions
4. Given you overall assessment of all the surviving story-lines, during the Evaluation stage
5. View all other participants’ evaluations (anonymised)
6. Download a copy of all the story-lines and comments, and evaluation results
7. Apply to be a Facilitator of other ParEvo exercises