Your Rapid Learning Cycles plan on one board

Rapid Learning Cycles teams work from Key Decisions, the Knowledge Gaps behind them, and the activities that close those gaps. Cardsmith puts all three on a grid with your Learning Cycles across the top, so the plan you review at each event is the one the team updates every day.

No credit card needed. See pricing

The Rapid Learning Cycles Plan template in Cardsmith: rows for Key Decisions, Knowledge Gaps and learning activities, and columns for three Learning Cycles and the Integration Event.
The Rapid Learning Cycles Plan template as it opens in Cardsmith.

How the board is laid out

  • Columns are your cycles: Learning Cycle 1, 2 and 3, then the Integration Event. Add a column for each cycle in your plan.
  • Rows are Key Decisions, Knowledge Gaps and learning activities. A Key Decision card sits in the column of the Integration Event where it will be made. The gaps behind it, and the work to close them, sit in the cycles before it.
  • Cards carry the detail. Add text fields for the owner and what was learned, and a checklist for the steps of each activity. Checklist progress shows on the card face.
“Cardsmith is so intuitive and subtle that it fades into the background, so teams can focus on the task at hand. It is our preferred solution for running innovation team events.”

Katherine Radeka, Executive Director, Rapid Learning Cycles

How teams use it

  1. Start from a template. Choose Create From Template in Cardsmith. The Rapid Learning Cycles Plan is under Team methods, and the Rapid Learning Cycles category has boards for Key Decisions, Knowledge Gaps and a Flow Diagram.
  2. Capture Key Decisions in your Key Decision workshop, one card each, placed at the Integration Event where you'll make them.
  3. Break each decision into Knowledge Gaps and plan the activities that close them, cycle by cycle.
  4. Update the board at each Learning Cycle Event. Move cards, tick off checklists, write down what you learned, and discuss in the board's comments.
  5. Share it before the Integration Event. Give stakeholders view-only access, or export the board to PDF for the meeting.

For facilitators and certified consultants

Keep a master board with your own wording and card layout, then copy it for each client or project team. Copies can include the cards or just the layout. Folders keep each client's boards together, and search finds a card across all of your boards.

Questions

Does Cardsmith teach the Rapid Learning Cycles framework?

No. Cardsmith is the board your team plans on. The framework, training and certification come from the Rapid Learning Cycles Institute.

Can several project teams each have their own plan?

Yes. Copy the plan for each team, invite that team as collaborators, and use folders to keep the boards apart. A portfolio lead can be given view-only access to every board.

What does it cost?

Every account starts with a 30-day trial of all Professional features, and no credit card is needed. After that, Professional is $9 a month billed yearly ($12 billed monthly), and Team plans are $9 per person per month billed yearly. If you don't subscribe, your boards stay viewable but can't be edited. Details are on the pricing page.

Rapid Learning Cycles is a framework created by Katherine Radeka and taught by the Rapid Learning Cycles Institute. To learn the framework itself, visit rapidlearningcycles.com.

Boards for other methods

Try it on your own plan

Start from the template, rename what you need, and invite your team.

No credit card needed.