Who / What / When Matrix

Purpose

The Who / What / When Matrix is a simple closing exercise that converts discussion outcomes into accountable commitments. By explicitly naming who will do what by when, teams leave every meeting with a shared, unambiguous action list — eliminating the “I thought you were handling that” problem.

At a glance

• Group size: 3–20
• Duration: 15 minutes
• Difficulty: Beginner
• Facilitation style: Structured wrap-up
• Setting: In-person or virtual

How to run

1. Draw the matrix (1 min). Three columns on a whiteboard or shared doc: Who, What, When.
2. Harvest actions (5 min). Review the session’s outcomes. For each action item, ask: “Who owns this? What exactly needs to happen? By when?”
3. Confirm commitments (5 min). Read each row aloud. The named person confirms or negotiates the deadline.
4. Distribute (2 min). Photograph the matrix or share the doc. Ensure every participant has a copy.
5. Set follow-up (2 min). Agree when and how the group will check progress (next meeting, async check-in, etc.).

Materials needed

• Whiteboard, flip chart, or shared digital document
• Markers

Pitfalls & common mistakes

• Vague ‘what’ entries. “Follow up on X” is too vague. Insist on specific deliverables: “Send proposal draft to client.”
• No deadlines. An action without a date is a wish. Every row needs a ‘when’.
• Assigning to absent people. Never commit someone who isn’t in the room without their explicit agreement.

Inclusion & accessibility

• Read each row aloud so all participants can confirm.
• Send the final matrix in a text-based format (not just a photo) for screen-reader compatibility.
• Allow people to volunteer rather than being assigned if the culture supports it.

Variations

• RACI extension: Add a fourth column for “Informed” to specify who needs to know about progress.
• Traffic-light review: At the next meeting, mark each row green/yellow/red for status.
• Digital-first: Use a project management tool (Trello, Asana, Linear) directly during the exercise.

When NOT to use this

• When the meeting was purely informational with no actions to assign.
• When a more sophisticated project management process is already in place and this would duplicate it.

Source & further reading

• Gray, D., Brown, S., & Macanufo, J. (2010). *Gamestorming.* O’Reilly Media.
• Lencioni, P. (2004). *Death by Meeting.* Jossey-Bass.