A table with Futures Academy materials, with a Ladder of Abstraction card among booklets and cards of the 21st century framework
Working model: Ladder of Abstraction

What is your research really about?

If you look at the whole world, you cannot see the wood for the trees. Climb a few steps up for an overview, and a few down to make it tangible. In between, you find your topic.

View the model
Ladder of Abstraction, free working model by Futures Academy. Hand drawn ladder with someone climbing up, three lines on the left to zoom out, the box The future of in the middle, three lines on the right to zoom in, and a drone with a birdseye view at the top
DescriptionLadder of AbstractionAlso known as: Abstraction ladder, Take a point of view, Zoom out zoom in

A model to choose the scope of your research. Every step of the ladder is a different level of abstraction: from expert, team and employees at the bottom, via company and market, to economy, wealth, wellbeing and planet at the top. From your starting point you climb up to the bigger theme and down to a tangible situation, and then choose your topic: the future of… The idea goes back to the linguist S.I. Hayakawa, who showed in 1939 that every word sits at its own height of abstraction.

Perspective switchThrough the eyes of a drone

The ladder challenges your assumption that your topic is already fixed, and shows that everything depends on the height from which you look.

1When to use

When to use
the Ladder of Abstraction

You are starting trend researchThe whole world is too much. The ladder helps you choose a scope and a lens.
Your topic is too vague or too narrowToo high and you get lost in abstractions. Too low and you only see the details of today.
Your team is talking about something different from youOn the ladder you see that everyone stands on a different step, and you choose one height together.
The difference with a research question

You often choose a research question on whichever step you happen to stand. The ladder makes you look up and down first, so you consciously choose how broad and how concrete your topic is.

2The model

Zooming out
and zooming in

You read the ladder from the middle. The box holds your starting point. Climb two to three steps up and ask why it matters. Climb two to three steps down and ask where it becomes tangible. Then you choose your topic: the future of…

Hand drawn Ladder of Abstraction: someone climbs a ladder, with an arrow up to three lines to zoom out, the box The future of in the middle and an arrow down to three lines to zoom in
The Ladder of Abstraction in four parts. Tap a part of the ladder or scroll through the explanation.
Starting pointZoom outZoom inChoice
Download the model as an image
Starting point · ask where you stand now
The boxYour starting point

Write in the box the topic that first comes to mind: your market, your product, your department or a question already on the table. It does not have to be right yet. It is the step you are standing on now.

Zoom out · ask why it matters
Two to three steps upThe bigger theme

Describe your topic in more conceptual terms. Which bigger theme does it belong to, and what is its relevance to society? Keep asking: why does this matter? That way you get a birdseye view, like a drone above the field.

Zoom in · ask where it becomes tangible
Two to three steps downThe concrete situation

Climb back past your starting point and further down. Which department, element or situation makes the topic tangible? Keep asking: what does this look like in practice?

Choice · ask which step you will stand on
The future of…Your topic

Look at all the steps you have described and choose one. Broad enough to see real change, concrete enough to do something with. Complete it: the future of…

3Apply

How do you apply it?

Time20 to 30 minutes
PeopleAlone or with your team
You needThe worksheet and a pen
  1. 1Write down your starting point. The topic that first comes to mind. Put it in the box in the middle.
  2. 2Climb up. Two to three steps. Each time, describe your topic in bigger, more conceptual terms. Ask: why does this matter?
  3. 3Name the relevance. Which bigger theme or which change in society does your topic connect to?
  4. 4Climb down. Two to three steps below your starting point. Ask: what does this look like in practice?
  5. 5Make it tangible. Name a specific department, element or situation in which the topic becomes visible.
  6. 6Choose your topic. Choose one step and complete the sentence: the future of… This is the scope of your trend research.
Download the free worksheet
4Facilitator notes

Tips from practice

  • Climb up with the question why, and down with the question how. That way you stay on the same ladder.
  • Too high is too vague: there is little you can do about the future of the planet. Too low is too narrow: then you only see the details of today.
  • Do it alone first and compare afterwards. You will immediately see that everyone started on a different step.
  • Do not automatically choose your starting point. The best choice is often one step higher or lower.
  • Put your topic up where everyone can see it. It is the lens for everything you collect afterwards, and you can adjust it later.
Two colleagues write and talk at a table over a sheet of brown paper full of notes
Do it alone first, then compare. Everyone turns out to start on a different step.
5Examples

From automotive to batteries

A team from the car industry starts with the obvious topic: automotive. This is how it climbs up and down the ladder.

Three photos along the ladder: Mobility as a service, Automotive and a battery platform

Starting point

BoxAutomotive.

Zoom out · why does it matter?

1Mobility as a service: transport as a service instead of ownership.
2How people and goods move around.
3A liveable city and a cleaner planet.

Zoom in · where does it become tangible?

1The electric car.
2Batteries.
3The second life of a car battery.

Choice

TopicThe future of batteries.
The story in one line

The team started with automotive and in the end chose one step lower: the future of batteries. Concrete enough to research, big enough to see the shift towards mobility as a service.

Smart Moves

Every week one pioneer like Klarna

What did that organisation really do, and why? In ten minutes. With three reflection questions and a canvas to apply the move to your own challenge.

  • 1new pioneer every week
  • 30 minlive webinar, every other week
  • €10per month, cancel any month
Read more
Smart Moves: what would Klarna do?Smart Moves: what would IKEA do?Smart Moves: what would Maersk do?
6Result

Possible next steps

Working modelCone of PossibilitiesYour topic is set. Which futures are you not seeing yet?View the model With your teamThe Trends Research courseThe ladder is the first step. Learn to research trends yourself with your team.View the course We are happy to helpStuck?Ask us for help. We are happy to think along with you.Get in touch
Sources

Further reading

Good reads

Scientific background