Dream Mapping Template

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Dream Mapping is a visual method for teams to find the quickest path to a goal, create alignment and realize dreams together. It’s a fun and engaging way for teams to measure both output and outcomes and work on things that really matter.

It's built for any team who wants to achieve goals together. At Squadformers, we use it for our cross-functional teams to get on the same page.

"Dream Mapping is like the missing map in "roadmap'. Or the missing picture in 'the big picture'. Get teams on the same page using this collaborative tool!" — Nick Lebesis, VP of Product.

How to use it

Get together with your team to generate dreams for the next project, quarter or year
Select one or two dreams to focus on
Decide on 2-3 Signs that measure when you've reached your dream (metrics only, think Key Results from OKRs, like "Get 10,000 Daily Active users")
Drag your team's profile pictures onto the map and place them on the "Start Here" circle on the "Your Dream Map" frame (Tip: You can crop images into a circle shape to make them round.)
Start drawing out various Paths to that point towards the dream, and debate which Path to go down. (Example: Redesign dashboard, Hire three new support engineers, Build archive feature, etc.)
Once you've selected which path to go down, make it green and put the team members on the path who'll go down that path
Come back weekly to move people along the path to show progress, and add any new paths that you've come up with since last time (think of it like you're exploring the map of unknown possibilities, and you learn more as you get closer to the dream!)

Notes

You can't actually reach the dream until the Signs are all met, so keep looking
If a team member is moving forward on a Path (creating lots of output) but the Signs aren't changing (not the preferred outcomes), then consider picking another Path and updating the direction of the current Path to no longer point toward the Dream -- it was potentially the wrong path!

Go to dreammapping.io for even more complete instructions.

Jonatan Littke

Founder & Dreamer@Squadformers

Jontan is the Founder & CEO of Squadformers, a company specializing in building high-performing Squads to help startups accelerate meaningful software missions. Each Squad consists of a group of senior product makers (PM, eng, design, 5-7 people total) in North America. Jonatan was the first Web Developer at Spotify and has since taken the Squad model further and adapted it for remote work. Learn more at https://squadformers.com.