This document provides guidance on how to design and run a successful design workshop. It emphasizes that workshops should be treated as products that can be designed using design thinking principles. The key elements include carefully selecting participants and stakeholders, developing an engaging methodology and agenda, and planning the logistics down to the smallest details. While workshops don't always go as planned, being flexible, keeping to the overall story, and capturing outputs can help ensure the workshop meets its goals. The overall message is that workshops are tools to focus diverse groups and compress time and space to drive meaningful outcomes.

1. HOW TO DESIGN
A DESIGN WORKSHOP
@bobmarvan
Design Thinking lead
MSD.com

2. @BoBMarvan
• building websites since 2000
• 10 years at Seznam.cz
& 3 years at AVG (now Avast)
• now over 2 years at MSD
as Design Thinking lead

3. MSD (NYSE: MRK)
• one of the largest pharmaceutical
companies in the world
• established in 1891
• ~ 69.000 employees

4. Chapters
I. Motivations
II. How
1. People
2. Methodology
3. Logistics
III. What can go wrong?
IV. Outputs
V. Final takeaways

5. “Hey BoB, we need a chatbot!
Run the design workshop for us.”
Anonymous Stakeholder

6. So, what’s the most favorite
designers question?

7. WHY?WHY SHOULD WE?WHY SHOULD WE RUN?WHY SHOULD WE RUN A WORKSHOP?

8. Different needs, context & goals
• Deciding vision, strategy and priorities
• Identify the roots of problems
• Ideate on solutions
– Products
– Services
– Processes
• Build alignment across people and teams

9. 21th century:
“Technology first,
people second”
Chris Stradling

10. “At the time of endless possibilities it's up
to us – the designers –
to help others choose the best way how a
technology should
support the humankind.”
@BoBMarvan

11. Workshop is a tool
• Tool to compress the people
in a time and space. And focus them.*
• And “even the way can be a goal,”
as we are delivering not only a results,
but the experience as well.
*) In a comparison to ordinary series of meetings.

12. Our typical MSD workshops
• Scope: from new features in a product
up to 5 years strategy
• Duration: from 2 hours up to 5 days
• Size: from 4 people up to 40

14. 0  1 vs 1  n
Our typical product phase

15. 0  1 vs 1  n
Our typical product phase

16. When not to use a workshop?
• Will it work?  Usability testing
• How many...?  Analytics
• What’s better?  A/B testing

17. II. HOW

18. “Everything you need to know about how
to design
a design workshop,
you already know.”
@BoBMarvan

20. “If you know basic design process,
then you know how to design
a design workshop.”
Me again ;)

21. Workshop as a product
• Workshop is your product,
on which you can apply
the design thinking approach.
• It's like some kind of “meta design,”
design of design.

22. http://longevity3.stanford.edu/designchallenge/design-thinking-process/
Design Thinking

23. ”In preparing for battle,
I always found
that plans are useless,
but planning
is indispensable.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower

24. Three-legged stool
1. People
2. Methodology
3. Logistics

25. 1. PEOPLE

26. Stakeholders
• Bring you a topic
e.g. „We need a chatbot!“
• Define Goals/Outputs
• Define Success

27. Participants
• You need them for crowdsourcing
• Find supportive collaborants
• Identify problematic participants
• Split them in to groups because of:
– Easy cooperation and facilitation
– Backup of progress
– Competition

28. Guests
• Sometimes V.I.P. – needs extra care
• Rules for Guests
• Extra table + Parking lot

29. YOU = Facilitator
• Invest your energy
• Delegate
• Take breaks when others are working
+
• Sleep well
• Take rest

30. (Co)facilitators
• n+1
• Onboard them ASAP
• Educate & train them

31. 2. METHODOLOGY

32. Not only Design Sprint
• Please, don't stick to Design Sprint only!
• Always strive for prepare well tailored workshop
based on the situation.

33. One Workshop = One Story
• Outputs from one exercise
are inputs in to the next one.
• Keep people oriented in that Story
(Agenda and Process)

34. Agenda: Tuesday, June 5th – Day #2
Time Duration Activity Comments
9:00 – 10:45 AM 105 mins Define Future process, Discussion, Prioritization
10:45 – 11:00 AM 15 mins Break
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM 90 mins Ideate ”Design Studio”
12:30 - 1:30 PM 60 mins Lunch
1:30 - 3:15 PM 105 mins Story Boards Story Boards, Information Architecture
3:15 – 3:30 PM 15 mins Break
3:30 – 5:00 PM 90 mins Prototype Sketching Wireframes
5:00 – 5:30 PM 30 mins Wrap up of Day #2
5:30 – 7:00 PM 90 mins Break
7:00 – 10:00 PM 120 mins Dinnner in MANÚ Risto https://manuristo.cz/
35

35. Process: Double Diamond
36

36. End to end approach
• Not only Creative problem solving,
but Creative problem finding.

38. Topics as layers not slices
LevelofDetail
Topics

39. Topics as layers not slices
LevelofDetail
Topics

40. Combine and Alternate
• Divergent / Convergent
• Individual / Teamwork
• Horizontal / Vertical

41. MSD Toolbox
• Double diamond framework
• Journey mapping
• Process mapping
• Brain writing
• Affinity mapping
• Dot voting
• Value proposition canvas
• Design studio
• …
• And yes, sometimes also Design Sprint

42. Visualize
• Everything:
– Agenda
– Ecosystem
– Process
– Prototype
• What's not shown, that's not shared!

43. What's not shown, that's not shared!

44. What's not shown, that's not shared!

45. What's not shown, that's not shared!
Thanks @DanRoam

46. Set the basic rules
1. No distractions
2. Hands up for calm down and focus
3. Time boxing
4. Note taking on Post-its

47. No distractions
48
No laptops, phones, or iPads allowed.
If you need your device, please leave the room or wait for a break.

48. 49
Hands up
Stop talking + Rise your hand
& Focus on me.

49. Timeboxing
50
Staying on schedule
is everyone’s responsibility.

50. Markers & Post-its
51
Write BIG with a marker
One idea per one post-it

51. Test and iterate
• Honestly, first time is almost never
as good as next time…

52. 3. LOGISTICS

53. “You will not find it difficult to prove
that battles, campaigns, and even wars
have been won or lost primarily
because of logistics.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower

54. “Forget logistics, you lose.”
Fredrick Franks, Desert Storm

55. How to start
• Build your team
• Prepare TO DO checklist
• Do things in parallel
• Share and delegate
• Get ready for repetition

56. The magic of checklist
• Prepare your checklist at the very beginning
• Check and update it ordinary
• It will help you to fill the gaps and keep yourself
oriented

57. Time: Agenda
• 3 levels of detail of agenda:
– Days
– Hours
– Minutes
• Bigger group needs more time for everything.
• Don’t forget to plan lunch and breaks.

58. 59

59. Agenda: Tuesday, June 5th – Day #2
Time Duration Activity Comments
9:00 – 10:45 AM 105 mins Define Future process, Discussion, Prioritization
10:45 – 11:00 AM 15 mins Break
11:00 AM – 12:30 PM 90 mins Ideate ”Design Studio”
12:30 - 1:30 PM 60 mins Lunch
1:30 - 3:15 PM 105 mins Story Boards Story Boards, Information Architecture
3:15 – 3:30 PM 15 mins Break
3:30 – 5:00 PM 90 mins Prototype Sketching Wireframes
5:00 – 5:30 PM 30 mins Wrap up of Day #2
5:30 – 7:00 PM 90 mins Break
7:00 – 10:00 PM 120 mins Dinnner in MANÚ Risto https://manuristo.cz/
60

60. 61

61. Space: Meeting room
• Big enough
– Ask for photo!
• Big Walls for Post-Its
• Projection
• Mic & Audio

62. Office supplies
 A4 papers
 Original Post-its
 Large post-its
 Black markers for everyone
 Flipcharts
 Sticky flipchart size papers
 Whiteboard markers
 Tapes, pins and tacks
 Sticky points for dot voting
 Sticky name tags for everyone

63. Catering and Refreshments
• Lunch on site saves time.
• Refreshments help people
to maintain their energy.

64. Recordings
• Photos, Audio, Video
• Capture outputs
• Hands on

65. III. WHAT CAN GO WRONG?

66. Everything :)
• People delegate someone else – haha :P
• Problematic participants
– “I don’t believe in a collaborative way of working”
• Really curious high ranking guest
• People are to slow or to fast!
• The mid part is messy, people are nervous
• People leave earlier...

67. How to get over troubled water
• Stay oriented in time and be flexible.
• Don‘t change major steps in your plan,
change excersises or time donation.

68. IV. OUTPUTS

69. Outputs
• Plan next steps and assign them
• It was waste of time without a Report
• Post mortem meeting with facilitators
• Run feedback survey with participants
– Capture testimonials

70. “Excellent workshop!
The best meeting I have attending at
MSD since I joined 3 years ago.
Thank you for your hard work!”
Anonymous Participant

71. V. FINAL TAKEAWAYS

72. To design and run a workshop
is only another kind of product/service,
so you can apply design process on it.

73. Design Thinking

74. It’s not only Creative problem solving,
but also Creative problem finding.
Thanks @Jferrell03

75. Thank you
@bobmarvan
Design Thinking lead
MSD.com