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Effective facilitation during workshops

Workshops should be managed effectively and efficiently to minimise costs and time. The following things should be considered when organising and managing a workshop.

  1. Planning
    Each workshop should be carefully planned and the agenda circulated in advance. The agenda should include the aim of each of the items. The agenda should be followed and enough time allowed for the required outcome of each item.

  2. Reviewing
    At the beginning of the workshop it may be useful to review the previous workshop and request feedback from the team. It is also useful to review the outcomes at the end of each workshop so the team members are clear about the decisions made during the session.

  3. Group activities
    These will ensure interaction among the team members which is critical to the IWBDP. This can be particularly important during the visioning workshop as it will encourage the team members to form relationships.

  4. Brain-storming
    This allows pooling of knowledge within the team and can identify possible synergy or design conflicts among the disciplines.

  5. Focus
    The design objectives should be displayed during the workshop to keep the team focused. Regular breaks during the workshop will help maintain team members’ concentration.

  6. Questioning
    Asking the team questions will encourage thinking and could lead to innovative solutions being found.

  7. Recording
    The outcomes of the workshops should be clearly documented for review by the design team and stakeholders. The following items should be included as a minimum in this document.

    • date and time the workshop was held, and the venue
    • name, company and role of attendees
    • brief overview of the workshop
    • agenda
    • copy of mind maps from brain-storming sessions
    • group activities and outcomes
    • agenda items completed
    • agenda items needing further attention and actions required
    • questions put to the team and answers given
    • time, date and topic of the next workshop.

 

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