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I’m a big believer in using structured innovation workshops to inform product development. They’re a fantastic way of getting under the skin of a problem and generating a lot ideas for potential solutions.
But when you think of innovation workshops, you probably think of a bunch of people in a room with post-it notes and sticky dots. Up until recently, you probably wouldn’t think of a Zoom meeting. But since the COVID-19 pandemic, meeting face-to-face is just not an option for many people.
Over the past nine months, I’ve run multiple workshops for clients entirely online, using Planet Innovation’s BRIGHT™ Innovation Process. It took a bit of work to adapt the format, but I’m pleased to report that virtual workshops can be just as effective, if not better, than in-person workshops. In this article, I’ll give you some tips on how to get the most out of your virtual workshops.
Workshops can be useful at any stage of the design process, but usually they are best used when you have a big challenge that can’t be solved by just one person. Workshops, whether in-person or online, are a great way of getting an injection of outside expertise. When we hold our BRIGHT workshops for clients, we usually have a range of people participating, including some who are closely involved in the project, and others who can offer a fresh perspective. There will be a lot of people from the client’s organization, as well as domain experts from PI (Planet Innovation). In a workshop setting, these experts can offer a lot of value in a short period of time.
At its core, a virtual workshop is the same as an in-person workshop. Whether you’re sat in a meeting room or sat in your home in a virtual meeting room, BRIGHT workshops bring together a group of people with diverse skills to explore a problem and generate solutions. The challenge with moving these workshops online is keeping the collaborative atmosphere when you’re talking to people through a screen. But I’ve found that what you lose in ‘vibe’ you can make up for with other benefits.
One of the big benefits, of course, is that your workshop attendees are not constrained by location. You can have people from all over the world join without the hassle and cost of travel. In some of the workshops I’ve run, we’ve had participants from across the globe, including the east coast and west coast of the U.S.A, Australia, and Europe. This would have been incredibly difficult to coordinate in-person. Going virtual also gives you more flexibility around the format of the workshop. When people aren’t travelling, you can easily split the workshop over several shorter sessions instead of having to condense it into a day or two to allow travellers to get home quickly. I also find it’s easier to keep participants’ attention in online workshops because there are fewer opportunities for private chats. Everyone is focused on the person currently on the screen speaking.
To enjoy these benefits, you’ve got to use all the tools in your arsenal to ensure the meeting runs smoothly. Based on my experience, I’ve put together the following tips to help ensure your virtual workshop is as engaging and productive as an in-person workshop.
Innovation workshops are a valuable tool in the product development process. Just because you can’t meet in person, does not mean you can’t hold a productive workshop. With the right tools and a well-planned agenda, virtual innovation workshops are just as good, if not better, than in-person workshops.
Interested in holding a workshop? Find out more about our BRIGHT™ process or get in touch.
As VP of Strategic Design, Ben operates at the intersection of design, technology and business, working with clients to understand their business requirements in the broader context of their market and product strategy. He has over 20 years’ experience designing consumer and medical products with a primary focus on delivering an exceptional user experience.
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