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BUSINESS ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES
The point is that if a workshop goes on too long the concentration
of the participants will waver, and they will become tired, bored
and even fractious. The facilitator must sense when the energy is
dipping, and call a break; and the workshop must finish on time.
If, at the scheduled end point, agreement is very close, then an
extension may be acceptable provided it is negotiated and agreed
with the participants. Otherwise, unpalatable though it is, the
only real answer is to reconvene – maybe with fewer people, just
to finish off the remaining issues.
The venue: The venue can have a significant effect on the dynamics of a
workshop. For example, having too many people crammed into
a small room with no daylight is hardly conducive to creative
thought; but having a small group in a ballroom can be equally
off-putting. The venue needs to be the right size, with
comfortable seating, good lighting (preferably natural) and
sufficient space to move around. It needs to be properly
equipped with flipcharts, whiteboards, pens and so forth.
Ideally refreshments should be available ‘on tap’, so that the
facilitator can take breaks at a convenient time in the
discussions, rather than at prearranged times. Similarly,
workshop participants should not have to waste a lot of time
getting served at lunch (or dinner, if it’s a whole-day event).
One issue to be addressed is whether the venue should be on
site or off site. On site is obviously cheaper and perhaps easier,
though meeting rooms seem to be in short supply in many
organisations. However, there is always the temptation for
people to sneak back to their desks during breaks, just to check
their emails, and this can make timekeeping very difficult.
Also, people may ‘pop in’ to grab someone’s attention, a further
distraction from the main business of the workshop. An off-site
venue obviously overcomes these problems, but expense has to
be considered, and some places – hotels notoriously – are not as
good at hosting business events (providing refreshments on
time, and so forth) as they should be. And even off site, the
availability of mobile phones and portable communication
devices means that participants are not completely free of
distractions.
Choice of The facilitator must make sure that the techniques
techniques: employed – especially those for discovery – are appropriate to
the task in hand and the nature of the participants.
Hard-nosed accountants, for instance, might be rather resistant
to some of the ‘softer’ ice-breakers. The facilitator may, of
course, wish to pull the participants out of their comfort zones,
but this must be done deliberately and with a ‘plan B’ in mind if
the attempt backfires. One thing that is a good idea in any case
is to use a variety of techniques, so that participants do not get
bored with yet another Post-it exercise or brainstorm.