PMI (Plus, Minus, Interesting)

What is Plus, Minus, Interesting (PMI)?

A critical thinking and brainstorming tool, PMI was developed by Dr. Edward de Bono. it fosters discussion of an idea from multiple points of view, specification what is positive (plus), negative (minus) and what might be neither but is worth considering (interesting). It can be used for a retrospective exercise or a futurespective one depending on the context of the topic.

Start a PMI Map in GroupMap

As one of simplest templates to use, the goal is simply to provide everyone the opportunity to express their views from different perspectives. The PMI Template is essentially lists headers of Plus, Minus and Interesting and allows participants to add ideas in, either one column at a time, or across the whole template depending on the style of your conversations. By using the template and having people brainstorm individually, there is less group think and bias and anchoring of ideas or opinions.

Who should use the PMI framework?

• Agile or scrum teams
• Change managers
• Workshop facilitators
• Policy and change makers
• Teams having to evaluate a decision or outcome
• Project teams, including remote teams
• Education settings and lesson plans

Related templates

• Six Thinking Styles
• Plus Delta retrospective
• Mad Sad Glad retrospective
• Start Stop Continue
• Agile retrospective
• 4L’s retrospective

Examples of PMI statements

• What are the positive things about this sprint/policy/feature/issue?
• What are the negative (minus) things about this sprint/policy/feature/issue?
• What is interesting about this sprint/policy/feature/issue?

References

• PMI-plus-minus-interesting-retrospective
• De Bono’s Thinking Lessons
• Plus-Minus-Interesting strategy

Check out TeamRetro, our solution for distributed agile retrospectives

Why should I run a PMI retrospective?

The simple goal of Dr De Bono was to overcome some of the narrow views that can be shared when a person expresses their opinion. By considering the plus, minus and interesting aspects of the same decision, it opens up each person’s thinking and encourages creativity. In scrum or agile retrospectives, the PMI is a very useful tool for getting groups who are stuck to list down different perspectives and to then consider the whole picture.

How to use the PMI template to run better meetings

Brainstorm

Start brainstorming through each of the different topics.

Vote

Have people voted on the topics that they would like to discuss the most.

Share

Share the results and facilitate the discussion towards a decision.

Brainstorm

Invite everyone to your PMI template in GroupMap and introduce the purpose of the meeting. Ask everyone to start sharing what they think are the positive ideas on the virtual sticky notes in the Plus, Minus and Interesting columns. 

Depending on the nature and size of the group, you can either have them do this one column at a time, or at any time. If you have done this via individual brainstorming, then you may want to add a group stage to consolidate ideas that are the same.

Vote

Ask people to read through each of the statements and to vote on the top 5 that they would like to discuss further. All votes are independent.

Results

Reveal the results of the votes and sort the ideas by top votes if needed. Then discuss the top voted ideas to help the team progress, learn or decide.

Start a PMI Map in GroupMap

Save effort, time and money with GroupMap

GroupMap offers more than just an online digital whiteboard—it’s innovative platform is designed to enhance the quality of your team’s decisions. With features that prevent bias and make facilitation seamless, GroupMap ensures no single voice dominates and ensures productive, inclusive conversations. 

Its intuitive interface is easy for anyone to use, and its scalable design supports small teams and large groups whether they are face to face or around the globe. Customizable templates and workflows keep discussions focused on objectives, helping you drive actionable outcomes each and every time.