Liberating Structures
Agreement & Certainty Matrix
Sort challenges into simple, complicated, complex, and chaotic domains. So you can match problems with the right approaches and avoid mismatches that waste time and energy. This structure helps teams quickly diagnose what kind of challenge they’re facing and choose the most effective response—whether that’s best practices, expert analysis, emergent experiments, or rapid action.
Agreement & Certainty Matrix
What is made possible - What it unlocks
The Agreement & Certainty Matrix unlocks clarity in the face of confusion. It gives teams a shared language to talk about different types of problems and stops them from applying the wrong solution to the wrong challenge. By sorting issues into four domains—simple, complicated, complex, and chaotic—you can quickly see where you need expertise, where you need experimentation, and where you need to act fast without overthinking.
When to use it
- When a team is stuck debating the “right” approach and can’t agree on next steps
- When you’re facing a messy challenge and need to figure out what kind of problem you’re actually dealing with
- When you want to avoid over-engineering simple issues or under-preparing for complex ones
- When introducing new team members to systems thinking and complexity science
- When planning a strategy and need to map out which initiatives require experimentation vs. execution
- When retrospectives reveal repeated mismatches between problems and solutions
- When you need to build shared understanding across disciplines or departments
- When decisions are being made based on gut feeling instead of problem type
🛠️ The five design elements of Agreement & Certainty Matrix
Each Liberating Structure consists of five simple design elements to make participation possible for everyone. By shaping these elements with care, you move beyond rigid control or chaos and create space for people to contribute, listen, and co-create.
- 1. The Invitation
- 2. Setup & Materials
- 3. Participation Flow
- 4. Group Configuration
- 5. Sequence & Timing
How you frame the purpose or question that sets the focus and energy of the group.
- Invite participants to categorize their current challenges as simple, complicated, complex, or chaotic
- Ask them to place every challenge in the matrix based on their answers to two questions: What is the degree of agreement among the participants regarding the challenge and the best way to address it? What is the degree of certainty and predictability about what results will be generated from the solutions proposed for addressing the challenge?
- Ask them to think about the approaches they are using or considering to address each challenge, evaluate how well these fit, and determine where there are mismatches
The arrangement of space and which tools or resources are needed to support interaction.
- Chairs for people to sit in groups of 4–6, with or without small round tables
- Open wall with a large tapestry paper illustration of the matrix taped to the wall
- One page with a blank matrix and markers for every participant (download free worksheet with the blank matrix)
- A brief explanation of the four domains visible to everyone (see free worksheet)
Who gets a voice and how everyone is actively included in the process.
- Everyone involved in the work team or unit under discussion (not only leaders)
- Everyone has an equal opportunity to contribute
How people are arranged (alone, small groups, or all together) and how this shifts during the activity.
- Individually to make initial assessments
- Small groups of 4 to 6
- Whole group
The step-by-step flow of the activity and the time given to each step to keep energy and focus.
- Ask participants to individually generate the list of challenges that take up their time. (5 min)
- Explain the matrix (3 min)
- Still working individually, participants place challenges in their individual matrixes. (5 min)
- Ask participants to discuss in pairs. (5 min)
- Invite them to chat with others in a group of 4–6 to find points of agreement, difference, and where there are mismatches. (10 min)
- Invite everyone to post their challenges on the large wall matrix. (5 min)
- Ask participants to form small groups and step back to reflect on, “What pattern do we see? Do any mismatches stand out that we should address?” (5 min)
- Invite whole group to share reflections and decide next steps. (10 min)
Total time: 45 minutes
Online version
Adapted for virtual use, with the same impact
All the steps are the same as described above.
Use a digital whiteboard for collaborating together by placing challenges in the Agreement & Certainty Matrix (see free worksheet below)
Prepare breakout rooms for the small groups to work in.
Total time: 45 minutes
Solo version
Adapted for individual use and personal development
You can do this structure solo, but always remember: the results are way richer if you do it with the people involved in your challenges. Aim for talking with people instead of about people.
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- Use the blank Agreement & Certainty Matrix worksheet and review the explanation of the four domains (Simple, Complicated, Complex, Chaotic). (3 min)
- Write down your context – your role, project, or domain. Then brainstorm 10-15 challenges, issues, or decisions you’re currently facing. Write each on a separate sticky note. (10 min)
- For each challenge, ask yourself: “How certain am I about the facts and cause-effect relationships here?” Place challenges with high certainty toward the right side, low certainty toward the left. (10 min)
- For each challenge, ask yourself: “How much agreement exists among key stakeholders about what to do?” Place challenges with high agreement toward the top, low agreement toward the bottom. Adjust positions until each sits in the right zone. (10 min)
- Step back and observe your matrix. Write down: Which zone has the most challenges? Which zone do you avoid? Are any challenges misplaced based on wishful thinking? (5 min)
- Write down: What are your reflections/insights and decide next steps (5 min)
- Set a reminder to revisit your matrix monthly. Challenges can move between zones as situations evolve. (2 min)
Total time: 45 minutes
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All Liberating Structures in 1 e-book
All Liberating Structures (44!) including explanations, visual step-by-step guide, and worksheets in a handy workbook for € 11,-
- Simple methods for big changes
- Have interactions that truly matter
- Build a culture of innovation step by step
- Involve and activate everyone in the group
Proven over decades
🧠 Why it works
Liberating Structures are not magic tricks—they work because they tap into how people naturally think, connect, and collaborate. Each structure is carefully designed to unlock participation, spark creativity, and build trust, using principles grounded in social science and human interaction.
Attribution: Liberating Structure developed by Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless. Adapted from the work of professors Ralph Stacey and Brenda Zimmerman.
Cognitive Clarity
Sorting problems into categories reduces cognitive load and helps teams stop spinning in confusion.
Systems Thinking
The matrix is based on the Cynefin framework, which recognizes that different types of systems require different types of responses.
Shared Mental Mondels
Teams build a common language for talking about uncertainty and agreement, which reduces conflict and speeds up decision-making.
Adaptive Action
By matching the response to the domain, teams avoid wasting resources on mismatched strategies and increase their chances of success.
Riffs and Variations
Start with creative constraints to learn this structure and then... go liberate yourself and try some variations.
- Mismatch analysis: Ask, “Where are there mismatches in your approach; what countermeasures make sense?” and discuss as a group
- Action table: Create a table that captures the mismatches and any action steps that will be taken
- Single-issue deep dive: Use the same approach for a single issue people are facing in their work, going deeper into one challenge rather than sorting many
- Leadership edition: Use the matrix to sort strategic priorities and decide which require delegation, expert consultation, or cross-functional collaboration
- Project kickoff: Map project risks and uncertainties at the start to surface where you need flexibility vs. structure
- Real-time triage: Use a quick 10-minute version during a crisis to decide what needs immediate action vs. deeper analysis
- Innovation pipeline: Sort new ideas or initiatives to see which are ready to scale (simple), need prototyping (complex), or require R&D (complicated)
Tips
Lessons learned from other facilitators.
- Clarify what type of challenges and activities are being included—make sure everyone understands what counts as a “challenge” for this exercise
- Work up from the individual, then into pair and table conversations—this progression builds confidence and deepens thinking
- Spend a few minutes explaining the domains clearly—don’t assume everyone understands the difference between complicated and complex
- Encourage debate about placements; disagreement often reveals hidden assumptions and leads to richer insights
- Use real, current challenges rather than hypothetical ones for deeper engagement and more actionable outcomes
- Explore items that fall into more than one sector by asking, “Does this challenge have multiple dynamics at play? How is it simultaneously simple and complex?”
- Connect the matrix to action—each domain has different next steps, so make those explicit and decide what to do next
Traps
Don't make the same mistakes.
- Rushing the explanation and leaving people confused about what each domain means
- Making judgments about where people put their activities—focus on learning and exploration, not evaluation
- Treating the matrix as a one-time exercise instead of a dynamic tool that should be revisited as situations evolve
- Letting debates about placement turn into arguments—focus on learning, not being “right”
- Forgetting to connect the sorting to action—teams need to know what to do next in each domain
- Overloading the matrix with too many challenges at once; start with 5–10 to keep it manageable
- Skipping the individual and pair work and jumping straight to whole-group discussion—this shortcut reduces the quality of thinking
Try it with…
The real power of Liberating Structures emerges when you combine them into "strings." Link different structures together to build on insights and create more powerful results. Here are some nice combinations:
- 15% Solutions after sorting challenges to generate immediate actions for simple and chaotic issues
- Ecocycle Planning to identify what’s in the right domain and what needs to shift
- 1-2-4-All to generate and sort challenges collaboratively before mapping
- What, So What, Now What? (W3) to debrief the matrix and decide on next steps
- User Experience Fishbowl to explore how different stakeholders experience the same challenge across domains
- TRIZ to tackle complex challenges that emerge from the matrix
Field stories
To get to know Liberating Structures without having used them yourself, it helps to see familiar situations from real-life practice. Chances are that you or your team have faced one of these challenges before. Discover how to approach these kinds of situations in a fresh and engaging way.
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Download the PDF explanation incl. worksheets
Would you like a clear, well-designed visual explanation of Agreement-Certainty Matrix? It’s yours!
This download also includes 3 worksheets so you can run this structure fully by yourself: 3 different posters with the Agreement-Certainty Matrix explained.
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Agreement & Certainty Matrix
Sort challenges into simple, complicated, complex, and chaotic domains.
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