How to Plan and Run the Perfect UX Workshop

Want to get ideas for a particular design problem? Do a workshop!
Want to evaluate a design with users? Do a workshop!
Do you want to collect input from experts in a field? Do a workshop!
Want to prioritize a set of features? Do a workshop!
you Want… OK, you got it!
Workshops are an essential part of the UX process, but they are too often poorly thought out and poorly managed. Here are some tips for planning and executing the perfect UX workshop.

Workshop planning

As a former scout, I like to think that former scouts make very good UX because we always try to be “Scout always ready!”.
The success of a good workshop is as much in the planning as the preparation.
As a general rule, you should spend about twice as much time preparing for a workshop as the duration of the workshop itself. Therefore, if you think you are going to do a 2 hour workshop you should spend at least 4 in preparation.
Here are some of the things you should think about:
scouts

Establish workshop objectives

First think about the objectives of the workshop. Why do you want to do this workshop in the first place? What do you need to get out of this one? A good idea can be to start from the desired outputs and work backwards from them.
For example, if your desired output is to have a list of prioritized features, then how can you get there?

Planning activities

After you have established your workshop objectives, you are going to need to plan what you are actually going to do during the workshop. Don't just think about what you need to get out of the workshop, but also about everything that is likely to work well?
Design games can be a great way to engage participants and help stimulate dialogue and conversation.
If you need inspiration, the sites on Game-storming and Innovation games are full of ideas for the workshop activities you want to organize. If you haven't tried the activity before, it might be good to do a quick pilot to get an idea of ​​the timings and especially to see if the activity is likely to work well in your workshop setting.

decide who should come

We often tend to invite everyone, whereas it is important to invite only people who absolutely need to be there, and who will really have something to contribute.
It's usually best to have as few people as possible (Jeff Patton talks about group size being what you'd want for a dinner party). It is sometimes a good idea to do several workshops with small groups rather than one workshop with everyone. This ensures that the group will not be too large and therefore too heavy to handle. Also, if someone doesn't need to attend the whole workshop, don't be afraid to invite them to only part of it.
We must ask ourselves the question of remote participants (by conference call or video). This indeed completely changes the dynamics of a workshop, so that it may be preferable (even essential) to organize a separate workshop, in order to optimize the workshop for remote participants.
Finally think about how many people you will need to help run the workshop. Of course, this varies depending on the size of the group and the type of workshop, but as a general rule two people to cover a workshop is better than one. You will usually have a main 'facilitator' and a note taker (these roles can be swapped during the workshop). This ensures that the facilitator is not trying to deliver the workshop and capture everything that happens at the same time, which is impossible.

Gather an agenda

Scheduling is a necessary evil, don't think you can skip this important part of the planning process. The UX Workshop Program has two main goals. Firstly it helps you plan and think about what you can incorporate into your workshop and secondly it lets participants know what to expect (of course, if they read it!).
When putting together a schedule, I've often found it helpful to list the activities I want to do, estimate how long each is likely to take (in minutes) and then see what I can do as combination in available time. Be careful not to forget breaks if you don't want your workshop to turn into a three-hour marathon, and be realistic when estimating how long an activity is likely to take.
You can aim for up to 90 minutes of activity between breaks. As it can be difficult to gauge how long activities will take it may be good to have a set of "nice to have" wildcard activities to pull out of the hat in case it is needed. If you are ahead of schedule, you will have the opportunity to release your “nice to have” activities, or simply the possibility of finishing the workshop earlier!

Choose a location

I can't stress enough how important it is to choose the right location for a UX workshop. Location, Location, Location. Shoehorn everyone into a room that is too small and the workshop will probably fail. Pick a location that's too loud and distracting and the workshop will likely fail too.
Small meeting room
When choosing a venue think about the number of people you will have, the kind of activities you will be doing and the kind of environment that will be conducive to the workshop. Generally the bigger the venue the better. In addition you will certainly want to use a screen and have plenty of wall space to stick post-its, sketches or any other document.
If you are going to ask people to be creative you should try to choose a more informal venue. A good idea might for example be to use a place outside the office so you can make sure you get everyone's attention.

Ensure attendees are prepared

Running a workshop is a bit like being a school teacher. You will have to prepare your course, your lesson; you will need to think about how to control rambunctious children in the back (watch out for senior users – they often have the worst behaviors) and you may want to give your participants some homework before the workshop.
You can send out some assignments a few days before the workshop (too early and people will always forget to do them) in order to set expectations and make sure everyone comes prepared with thoughts, questions and ideas, etc. In your homework package, you should include the workshop agenda, details of 'when' and 'where' the workshop will take place, and any work you want participants to complete.
You could ask everyone to present a handout or set of slides, find examples of something, or just think of a few ideas to put on the table.
Don't ask for too much time-consuming work (or no one else will) and don't expect everyone to have done their homework (again you'll find that senior speakers are the worst). It might be a good idea to remind people in person (or over the phone) a few days before the workshop what they need to do. Emails are all too easy to ignore, and speaking to someone the night before also helps to verify that what you're asking for is clear and has been understood.

Preparation of the room

You don't want to spend the first 10 minutes of your UX workshop setting up the room, so it's important that you have access to the room before it starts. Check that everything is in working order (there is nothing worse than fiddling with the projector button for long minutes at the start of a workshop), Prepare and check everything you will need during your workshop.
Think about what is likely to work well: good table, good chairs, and make sure you have enough supplies, a flipchart, post-it notes, and whatever else you'll be using. A good idea is to offer your participants some snacks during the workshop and why not some goodies. Thanks to the principle of reciprocity (give someone something for free and they will subconsciously feel indebted), you should get more participation from your participants without even realizing it.

Execution of the workshop

Life is like a box of chocolates and a workshop is like a sandwich. And like any good sandwich, it must have three layers!
There is the opening bread layer, the middle main filling layer, and the closing bread layer. Much like a sandwich each layer/section has a different role to play.
Sandwich

Opening of the workshop

You need to spend some time initializing the workbench. Make it clear what the objectives of the workshop are, what will be covered and specify the 'house' rules, such as putting mobile phones on silent for example and having only one conversation at a time. Make sure that all the rules are clear, that participants understand and ask participants if they have any questions.
If the participants don't know each other, it may be interesting to go around the table quickly and why not do a little 'ice-breaker' game, like a quick 'Pictionary' for example, or ask everyone to say one thing surprising.

Facilitate the workshop

The workshop will consist of your different activities. As I mentioned before, I usually find it best to have a designated facilitator for each activity and then one or more note-taking assistants. Running the workshop and taking good notes is only really possible for very experienced facilitators and relatively small groups, so if you are on your own, try to get some help during the workshop if you can.
Introduce each activity before it begins and let all participants know what is expected of them.
It's generally a good idea to use examples to give people an idea of ​​what to do. It's important not to be afraid to stop or change an activity if it's not working.
Finally, try to keep an eye on the weather. It can be too easy to lose track of time and find too late that you're not going to be able to cover everything you wanted to.

Closing of the workshop

All good things come to an end and like a good book or movie, you should end your workshop with a good conclusion.
It is a good idea to spend time at the end of the workshop to review what has been achieved, and to take stock of next steps, and assign actions.
As a good host you should thank the attendees for coming and remind them that they were awesome (even if they weren't). Finally remind everyone to attend the following workshops and activities.

Recording Outputs

No doubt you will create a lot of interesting outputs during your UX workshop. These inputs can take the form of post-its, sketches, scribbles, ideas, lists and so on.
You'll want to keep a record of these outings, so make sure you not only photograph everything, but also take as many things with you as possible.
That's why it's generally better to use flipcharts rather than whiteboards (so you can take the pages along) and to stick post-its on the paper, rather than directly on a wall or window.
Post-its on paper

After the workshop

Remember when you were a kid and you had to write thank you cards and letters for birthday presents? A small thank you can take a long time, so be sure to thank everyone once more while they're still there and repeat any follow-up actions.
Share the results of the workshop so that everyone continues to feel involved and can feed if they wish. Finally, ask for feedback on how the workshop was run and spend some time reflecting (mini-retrospective) so that the next UX workshop you do is even more perfect!
Translated from: http://www.uxforthemasses.com/