Workshops are concentrated requirements-gathering sessions — multiple stakeholders, half-day to full-day, structured agenda.
Pre-workshop:
- Define objective clearly. "Map the lead-to-cash process" not "talk about CRM".
- Invite the right people. Decision-makers + at least one user per affected role + maybe an SME or two. Too many people = paralysis.
- Pre-read — share an agenda, share existing doc, ask people to come prepared.
- Logistics — room booked, whiteboard / digital boards, supplies (sticky notes, markers).
- Facilitator role — usually consultant. Plans, leads, stays neutral.
- Scribe — captures notes, doesn't participate.
During:
- Set ground rules — phones away, one conversation at a time, no laptops unless agreed.
- Start with context — recap project goals, today's objective.
- Mix techniques:
- Process mapping on whiteboard — collaborative, visual.
- Sticky-note brainstorming — surface diverse ideas without anchoring.
- Affinity grouping — cluster ideas.
- Voting / dot-prioritisation — rank items.
- Role-play — walk through scenarios as a customer.
- Devil's advocate exercises — challenge assumptions.
- Manage airtime — quiet voices need explicit invitation; loud voices need redirection.
- Park off-topic items — "parking lot" board for things to address later.
- Time-box ruthlessly — 30 min on this topic, then move on.
Post-workshop:
- Same-day write-up — capture decisions, action items, parking lot. While memory fresh.
- Send to participants for review — confirms understanding, surfaces misalignment.
- Decision log — explicit record of what was decided, by whom.
- Follow-up sessions if needed.
Common pitfalls:
- Workshop without clear objective — wanders.
- Wrong attendees — decisions can't be made; talkers without authority dominate.
- No ground rules — chaos.
- Skipping the write-up — collective amnesia by next week.
- Facilitator participating instead of facilitating — biases the outcome.
Senior consultants treat workshops as their primary tool for accelerating Discovery — done well, one workshop replaces a week of 1:1 interviews.