01 THE OUTPUT

What is the purpose and the desired outcome of the workshop?

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What outcome do you want to be left with in the end?

Do you need to brainstorm on a function of a product

or make a completely new business plan?

In which state of the design process are you?

Are you finding solutions or defining problems?

The Double Diamond is here to help:

(Find more information on it in our Dictionary)

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02 THE CONTEXT

What is the context and nature of the workshop?

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Where is the workshop going to be held? A bar or a meeting room?

The place can determine which exercises work.

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With whom? The amount of participants and their background are important to consider. CEOs might not have the time and interest to play games.

Consider the audience also when you dress up as your appearance can have a large impact on the flow of the workshop. If the workshop is for a business full of suits, forget crocks and a wifebeater. The safest is to dress in a respectful manner and so that you can modify your looks, for instance taking your jacket off if it feels like too much.

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03 CONTENT AND ROLES

How to choose and take care of the activities?

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Choose exercises and plan the right flow to match the outcome and the context.

How much time do you have? What should the structure be like?

Often workshops consist of 3 stages; Creating Comfort, Staging Discussion and Developing Together.

We recommend at least 1 exercise for each stage.

Which exercises? It is important to consider the audience (age, profession etc.) when choosing exercises, just like with your appearance. Remember the output as well!

Look for exercises fitted for different stages and purposes from the Ingredients.

 

Make a detailed plan for the workshop, including expected time for each exercise. If the time is really strict, bring a timer or use the one on your phone.

You can use our template from the Library of Templates in Ingredients. Here's a sneak peak:

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What roles are needed? Who is doing what?

If possible, have a documenter to help you because it might not be possible to document everything important while facilitating or participating the workshop. Make sure that the roles and tasks are clear. Think what you need for documenting: a laptop, pen and paper, a camera with enough memory and battery? A template for documenting can also be useful, or perhaps you can record the whole workshop (but if it's a long one, it takes time to handle). On some occasions you might have an instinct on certain things you would especially like to be documented - for instance a certain activity - and you can make sure beforehand that either you or an assigned documenter is aware of this at the right time. Templates in general make documenting a lot easier. You can also use exercises that help documenting, such as Rank/Categorize.

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Always have a plan B in case the room changes, the technique doesn't work, somebody gets sick, you've misunderstood the audience etc.

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04 COMFORT

Do you have everything you need and something extra to add comfort and convenience?

 

Make the workshop flow by having more material than you need: post-it notes, pens, templates etc.

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What about music? A playlist could save your workshop.

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Consider also bringing suitable food and drinks. Coffee and tea is always nice to have, and perhaps something refreshing like fruit, and something salty like nuts. Have a variety of things in case of special diets and allergies. If possible, you can make a survey for this beforehand, but having different options should be enough. There should always be enough water! It's also a fun idea to match the servings with your workshop's theme if possible.

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05 CHECK

Does it work?

 

Put your plan to test!

When your workshop plan is ready and you have all the materials and other things you need (print and purchase!), go through it one more time. Practice your speech and make notes for the workshop just in case (you might need them). Pay special attention to testing exercises you haven't used before or in a long time.

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If possible and necessary, go and make preparations on the set and test the technique. The size and importance of your workshop determines how much you need to prepare beforehand. Often it is enough to make the final touches on the set (step 6) just before the workshop starts, but with enough time.

 

Make a checklist for you to go through and keep it for the workshop.

One can be found in the Library of Templates.

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Now you're done planning and preparing a workshop! Move on to the next steps 6-8 for what you need to consider in action: DURING THE WORKSHOP.

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