PASE stands for Plants, Animals, Structures and Events.
Some people include Technologies too, making it PASTE.
The PASE sheet can be used in 2 ways and usually both approaches are helpful:
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A way of recording what is there and what happens already.
Use it as you walk around the site, or talk to the users, to record what you see and hear. Part of the site survey.
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A simple way to find out what new things people want to include in the project.
Record the visions of the people involved with the site. Users write on the sheet, under the appropriate heading, using a keyword description of elements they would like to see in the design for the project. There is absolutely no need at this stage to think about whether the idea is possible, relevant or proper, indeed you can fill in the form with as much a sense of fun and fantasy as you like. Be bold and risky, almost anything is possible! Part of the client survey.
Different ways to involve people in filling in the PASE sheet:
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Groups of people might like to fill in the PASE sheet as part of a creative event, taking it in turns to add a keyword to a category.
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It is helpful to have examples of what is possible available. People can’t suggest ‘community composting’ if they don’t know it exists…
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The sheet can be as big as you like, you could use small groups working together on one topic, use post-it notes etc.
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Put it on your noticeboard and encourage people to add things over a couple of weeks.
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Give out lots of sheets for people to fill in themselves and then collect them together and collate them, so that everyone can see the big picture, or ‘collective vision’ for the site.