Step 1: Identify Challenges
How?
After you have read and reread the future scene several times:
· Take a few moments and brainstorm anything you could possibly foresee as a possible challenge presented in the future scene.
o First do this individually, then bring your ideas together as a team.
· As a team, begin to write your challenges.
o Remember, Challenges are issues, concerns, problems, or points of importance that may be causes of a future scene or result from a future scene.
o Look at the category list and use the categories as guides to help write challenges. (i.e. What might be a challenge in the future scene that relates to transportation?)
o Your team will need to come up with a minimum of 16 challenge statements.
As you begin to brainstorm and then write challenges as a team, keep in mind:
1. We Rule out criticism & praise … Don’t say yes or no to an idea.
2. We want quantity … the larger the number of ideas, the greater the chance of reaching the best solutions.
3. We seek combinations and improvements…combine and “hitchhike” ideas along with others’ ideas
4. We welcome freewheeling…The wilder the ideas, the better. Offbeat and silly ideas may trigger practical breakthroughs that might not occur otherwise.
What should a written challenge look like?
· Write challenges in statement form.
· Write challenges as possibilities – since this is the future we are imagining, it is IMPOSSIBLE to say that something WILL happen. Use words like may, might, could, possible, etc.
· Don’t forget to include any research that you did. Cite sources, mention terms relating to the topic, include facts from your reading, or relate challenges to your personal experience.
· Each written challenge should explain:
o What the challenge is
o Why it is a challenge
o How it relates to the future scene
· There should be a cause and effect relationship between the challenge and what its result should be.
What makes this challenge perfect?
- Makes clear connection to the future scene
“Because the Protinate-T gene surgery is highly expensive…”
- Explains what the challenge is
“…parents may not be able to financially afford to pay for treatment for each of their kids.”
- Explains why it’s a concern (it’s possible result)
“…which may negatively affect the negatives of the family.”
- Stated in terms of possibilities
“…parents may not be able to afford…”
“… which may negatively affect …”
- Mentions research conducted, terms specific to the topic, or connects to personal experience
“As has been shown by the research, this may lead …”
What do some more written challenge statements look like?
Novice Level (describes the basic concerns of a challenge):
· People who do not live in Leabeau County may not be able to shop there.
Experienced Level (describes the challenge and shows what the challenge is and why it is a challenge):
· People who do not live in Leabeau County may not want to do their shopping there because they are not prepared for the test of the cashless society.
Expert Level (provides even more insightful information and detail):
· Stores in Leabeau County may lose business because people who do not live in Leabeau County may not be prepared to function in a cashless society and so do their shopping elsewhere. This loss of sales could mean less profit for the store owners and lead to a possible lay off of employees.