How to Use Your
Bias Cards

Find Inspiration Right Here 

The bias cards are a conversation tool that can help you understand, identify and shortcut biases so you can act on them. The cards can be used in many ways and in different contexts. One approach is already included in the box. We have created a few other approaches for different scenarios. Use them as written, or even better, tweak them to fit your needs.

Explore the 4 ideas below and learn how to shortcut your biases

Retrospective

This retrospective is created with a team in mind, looking back at the previous Sprint or iteration (or any given period), ready to inspect and adapt with bias as the viewport. It can be tweaked to be used for longer period time or a different group.

What you need: 
  • Max. 10 people 
  • 2 hours 
  • One or two sets of Bias Cards 
  • A room with plenty of tablespace and a whiteboard
Preparation: 
  • Select some 10 biases that fit the group and retrospective

How

Following “Agile Retrospectives – by Diana Larsen”: 

Set the stage:
  1. Do a short presentation of bias and ask the participants individually, for a short time, to think about what biases they are aware of. Both good and bad. If they are up for it, ask them to share their own biases or if they have been affected by one or more from others. If it moves slowly, share a couple of biases to get people started.
  2. Share with the participants that talking about and working with bias is a delicate matter.
Gather data:


On a table, lay out the biases you have selected. Ask the participants individually to read all the biases with this question in mind and ask them to note their thoughts on post-its:

  1. In your opinion, which biases do you think the team has been influenced by in the timeframe the retrospective cover. When and what is good or bad?’
  2. One post-it for each bias they think is relevant. A bias can occur multiple times with the same of a different perspective. 

Place the team in the middle of a whiteboard. Could be a team name or a picture. Let all the participants place the biases and their notes with thought and perspectives around the team. Connect team, biases, and thoughts & perspectives. You’ll end up with something like this: 



Place and connect everything before comments or questions.

Generate insights: 
  1. Ask the participants to take a step back and see the entirety of their work. Also ask them to go into the details and read all thoughts and perspectives. Give them a couple of minutes to think about what they have seen and read. 
  2. Get one of the participants to present a bias with his or her thoughts and perspectives. Ask the group if it is something they recognize. Do they have more to add? Let the talk evolve and be open. But ensure that all identified biases with thoughts and perspectives are shared. 
Decide what to do :
  1. Time to bias shortcut. Individually – what effect of the biases is most important to you? It can either have a positive or negative effect.
  2. Next let each participant think about how the effect the have chosen can be shortcutted. Either so negative effects are minimized or removed, or positive effects can be enhanced. Note on post-its. 
  3. In groups of three. Present and share their shortcut ideas. Ask questions and comment. At the end each group has identified and marked, the shortcut the think can provide the most value. 
  4. Ask the groups to place all shortcuts on the overview where ‘they belong’, but only present the one they have identified with most believed value. 
  5. Of the marked shortcuts (those with most believed value). Each person ranks them from one to three. One being the one they believe the most in, two second most and three for third most. 
  6. The shortcut with lowest accumulated score is the one with the most believed value. Pick a person to be responsible, if the shortcut requires actions, else end with a vote of confidence about the effect of the shortcut. 
Close the retrospective: 

Finally let the participants look at the overview with biases, thoughts, and perspectives. Each person shares their biggest aha experience.

Product

Do you need to create a new product, or do changes to and existing product, could small or big changes. Or maybe retire a product? Biases will influence the work; this exercise will help you. 

What you need: 
  • Max. 8 people 
  • 3 hours 
  • One set of Bias Cards per person 
  • A table or wall/whiteboard with magnets, tape, or tack 
Preparation:
  • Gather all the biases in the product category 

How

  1. Make it clear what product is in focus and what context you are in: 
    • Is it about new ideas for the product? The direction of the product? Is something to be removed or the product to be retired? 
    • Is the bias in focus those the comes from yourselves? Our stakeholders? Leaders or managers? Or another group? Maybe keep it open and see what happens. 
  2. Share with the participants that talking about and working with bias is a delicate matter. 
  3. Each participants gets a set of bias from the product category. 
  4. From the given context of the product and the session, ask the participants to identify the 3 biases they think influence the product and decisions about the product the most. 
  5. Let the participants gather the selected biases. The same biases go into the same pile, so you’ll have a pile for each unique selected bias. 
  6. Ask the participants to note examples of how the biases effects the product. What they thought about when they selected the biases, but also any new thoughts they might have. Let them look at the pile of biases while they think and write. 
  7. In groups of two, let them share their examples with each other. Does it raise any questions? Do the examples match the given context, the product, and the bias? If not either modify or remove. Examples that recur? Examples that relate? 
  8. Take turn and let each group place their examples by their respective biases. Let other participants ask questions and comment. Does the example match the context? And the bias? 
  9. Create new groups of two. Each group select an example they would like to shortcut. Give the groups time to come up with ideas.
  10. The groups present their selected examples and ideas. Let the other participants ask questions and comment, to clarity, understand and improve the idea. Anything that can challenge or obstruct the idea? Does it still fit the context and product? 
  11. Let the full group select those ideas they want to try – try to minimize the number. 

Self-reflection

Want to do introspection? Then this short exercise is just the right one for you. 

What you need: 
  • Yourself 
  • 5 – 10 min 
  • One set of Bias Cards
  • Time alone 

How

  1. Select three bias you have been influenced by in the last week. Could be your decisions, opinions, or thoughts. 
    If you can't think of three, add random bias so you have three all in all, you might be surprised. 
  2. Remind yourself that talking about and working with bias is a delicate matter. 
  3. Of the three biases. Select then one that is most important to you in the moment. 
  4. What happened and what was impacted by our bias? 
    • Positively? 
    • Negatively? 
  5. What can you do to either enhance the positive side of the bias, or minimize or remove the negative side? 
    If you have more time, repeat with the remaining two bias.

Jokers – about bias

To talk about and work with bias, will most likely (without any doubt) be influenced by bias. Jokers about bias are 4 possibilities. 

Embedded in those 4 jokers is important knowledge about bias, both highlighting what is hard about bias, but it can also help you when you work with bias. The importance to create a balance; not too much – not too little. The importance of creating focus and pinpointing where it makes a difference, instead of being all over the place. 

This is one exercise on how to use the Jokers: 

What you need: 
  • Max. 5 people 
  • 15 min 
  • One set of bias Jokers pr. person 
  • A walk or a cosy place to sit 
Preparation: 
  • Gather the 4 biases in the Joker category 

How

  1. Each person gets a set with the 4 bias Jokers. 
  2. Remind each other that talking about and working with bias is a delicate matter. 
  3. Let the participants read the Jokers. Whomever has a thought or an experience can start sharing 
  4. Talk about what is shared. Let everyone share their thoughts and experiences.
  5. Let the conversation evolve into other examples or bias jokers. 
  6. About 5 min before time or when the walk is about to end. Let each person think about what was new to them and share. 

What is Bias?

A bias is a systematic and predictable deviation from rationality or fairness in judgment or decision-making, often influenced by unconscious factors or preconceived notions.

Let’s just start with the fact that biases aren’t inherently good or bad. They exist and they help you act without thinking and that is mostly a good thing. A bias can be seen as a shortcut in our mind and the way of thinking, that makes us react more quickly – a shortcut in our brain to make fast decisions. Some biases are also known as fallacies because the opinion that pops up in your head is false or doesn’t reflect the full picture.  Try to think about your first interaction with your colleague, maybe the person nearest to you right now. What was your firsthand impression of that person, and what triggered you? Was it the hair, the cloth, or perhaps the person’s accent that caught your eye or ear? And what did it – without you even knowing the person – tell you about this person? No matter what you felt when you met this person, your firsthand impression was affected by your biases.  

Can we shortcut our bias at work? 

You will always be affected by your biases, and they follow you in your job and everywhere else. So, there is certainly something to work with, and that is why we have created Bias Cards – The Bias Shortcutter.

We have picked 53 biases out of the +200 biases that we can experience within ourselves or feel judged by in our interaction with others and grouped them in five categories:

Relation

Team

Change

Product

Joker

And then we’ve wrapped them in a deck of cards.

What is a bias shortcut? 

A well-known example of a bias shortcut is removing names, pictures and age for job resumes and applications in a recruiting situation. What biases does that shortcut? Think about it before you read one. 

This could be some of the biases that we can shortcut: 

Beauty
Bias

Similar-to-me
Bias

Racial
Bias

Disability
Bias

Weight
Bias

Stereotype
Bias

It is mostly negative impacts that are limited or mitigated in this case. It is important to remember that biases are also positive. In those cases, the bias shortcut is about how we can enforce or maximize the effect of what the biases provide. 

A delicate matter

Even though a bias shortcut itself might be simple and easy. It touches our own beliefs and values – some we might not even be aware of or proud of. Therefore, conversation about and identification of bias and their possible shortcut should not be taken lightly. Some key points to keep in mind when venturing into the world of bias:

· No jokes at the expense of others
· Practices deep listening
· Tell your story/perspective
· Have an open mind

Also, consider what works in one context or company might not work in another context or company. So don’t copy shortcuts blindly. Even though the end result might be similar, the conversation getting there is crucial to understanding the impact of bias and its meaning in your world.

Working with bias is a must

Bias are the rulers of how we act per instinct. And negativity bias and overconfidence bias are some of the more prevalent biases of them all. You might think talking about bias is stupid and/or you might think that you’ve got this bias awareness all under control.  

But here is the thing. This is exactly why it makes it even more relevant to address working with bias because not addressing bias can create a toxic working environment as we are all acting under the influence of our biases. 

You might already work with bias shortcut like hiding the name and/or picture of the applicant to a job opening, but how about the bias you experience in your day-to-day job? With the card deck we would like to create more awareness of bias in the workplace. 

Things aren’t as black and white as we often imagine them. It is in the colourful range between black and white that we find a more common ground of understanding towards each other. It is in the in-between between right and wrong we see things more clearly. 

We are all responsible

We hope that the cards will create a common language for you to talk about the in-between and layers of color that can help us be more open towards seeing things from another and more fruitful perspective.  

Bias is not just a management issue it is an issue we are all responsible for addressing.  

Don’t just use the tool once. You don’t have to address all biases at once. Do it in smaller batches over time. And revisit when needed. Don’t just talk – put action behind the words.  

Create those bias shortcuts that could make a difference in your workplace.