Scenarios are descriptions of possible futures. They reflect different assumptions about how current trends will unfold, how critical uncertainties will play out and what new factors will come into play. Scenarios explore the possible, not just the probable, and challenge their users to think beyond conventional wisdom.

From a decision-making perspective, scenarios describe possible states of the exogenous environment within which a strategy will need to unfold. Scenarios, thus provide guidance regarding the selection of strategic approaches or decisions we take today on activities that need to produce their effects in an uncertain tomorrow.