The 3 to 5 days workshop Thomas would like to facilitate is intended to be a Design Sprint (here is a good writing about it). It works by involving all parties and works in 3 phases:

  • divergent sessions The initial proposal is a seed which will branch out in multiple new directions. We align the vision, set out the risks, stakeholders and responsabilities. At this stage, we will have uncovered multiple paths which all seem good.

  • exploration sessions We get to do low fidelity prototypes, sketches and drawings. They are based on a direction we feel comfortable to deal with, nurtured with users and civil cervants feedbacks. We also identify blockers, opportunities and can rethink the direction as we expand our understand of the problem/solution aspect.

  • converging sessions We narrow down the scope of what will become the Minimum Viable Product. We go back to our homes with a clear understanding of what is the project about, what we have to build, what we have to research if we are missing key elements.

Once the Design Sprint is over, it is unlikely we will have to schedule any meeting, aside of status updates, demo and sprint retrospective – they are all “opt in”. Their outcome will be documented.

We do not have to do it this way. But the risk to build the project on an idea, without the various parties is likely to take more time later down the line, with the risk of not having addressed the best of the problem.

There are 0 Powerpoints or presentation involved. They are active workshops where everybody has a piece of the puzzle and various ideas none of us can have on their own. The bonus is by attending the workshops, all attendees get to know how to reuse this technique — free training yay 🙌