Inception Deck

■ Significance & features

(What is an inception deck?)

Cases in which students themselves build systems for work efficiency and improved citizen services using low-code tools and the like are increasing. In doing so, they often consider adopting an agile development method—that is, a style in which a minimal cross-functional team repeats product build and release step by step.

An inception deck is a document, in agile development, for clarifying the whole picture of a project and having every team member share a common understanding. By aligning understanding on important elements such as the project’s background and content, priorities, stakeholders, and resources, it aims to have team members work on the project as one.

(Significance of the inception deck and how to proceed)

The inception deck is a tool for sharing a project’s purpose and direction across the whole team and aligning everyone’s understanding. In agile development, you proceed by responding flexibly rather than making a detailed plan in advance, so the process of sharing understanding at the early stage of the project is important.

This method was devised to raise the success rate of system development; the word “inception” means a “beginning” or “start.” Its purpose is for the whole team to understand the “beginning” of the project all at once, thereby minimizing later misunderstandings and problems.

In an inception deck, you answer the following ten basic questions.

1. Why are we here?

2. Elevator pitch

3. Package design

4. The not-doing list

5. Find your neighbors

6. Show the solution in technical terms

7. What keeps us up at night

8. Size it up (determine the deadline)

9. Trade-off sliders

10. What’s going to give (what and how much is needed)

    
    

By answering these questions, you can grasp the whole picture of the project concisely, and even students who are not particularly familiar with IT or system development find it easier to understand the project’s purpose and roles.

The inception deck is a very effective tool at the early stage that lets the whole team share “what we should aim for” and “how we should proceed” without delving deeply into technical discussion.

The inception deck is simple and easy for anyone to understand, but especially in environments where those with specialist knowledge are limited, customizing it makes it easier to use.

For example, in the elevator-pitch section that explains what is being developed, we add the customization “if you were explaining it to the mayor.” This encourages descriptions that focus on value and purpose rather than means.

■ How to use

(How to proceed & time required)

The facilitator of the kickoff meeting briefly explains the aim of this deck and the meaning of the ten questions, then starts the discussion of each question in turn. When there are many participants, dividing into groups to discuss and then consolidating is also a good approach.

Although the inception deck is a document completed by everyone together, rather than bringing it in blank, it is more efficient for the project leader to fill in the information that is already known in advance. For example, in the case of Takahama Town, Fukui Prefecture, they went into the kickoff with “Why are we here?” and “Elevator pitch (if explaining to the mayor)” filled in beforehand.

However, even for the answers to questions filled in beforehand, you must be sure to discuss them with the participants and agree on the content anew.

For the time required, expect one to two hours, though it depends on the amount of information already known and the number of participants.

■ Track record & usefulness

Students often have opportunities to advance work with multiple stakeholders in so-called siloed situations, but cases of crossed wires and misunderstandings can arise due to assumptions and differences of interest between departments.

By agreeing on the inception deck among stakeholders and maintaining it, it is expected to prevent needless trouble and waste.

It is especially effective for agreement on “why we are building it,” “who the stakeholders are,” and “priorities.” For example, in the case of Takahama Town, Fukui Prefecture, by recognizing priorities among stakeholders within the team early and increasing opportunities for stakeholders who would be the actual users to try it, development could be advanced efficiently.

■ Next steps

(Advanced training & practice)

• None in particular.

(References and their overview)

• Tokyo Metropolitan Government Playbook for Agile-Style Development🔗 (Tokyo Metropolitan Government, updated 2024)

  • It introduces, from many angles and picking up the real voices from the field, how agile-development projects were practiced in the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. It makes for very readable and approachable “reading material.”

(Related practice guides)

• Scrum Development Experience Workshop (Spice Factory Co., Ltd.)