How we run workshops at Accurx
As Accurx’s Product Designer in the accuMail team, I’m really glad to attend — and sometimes run — different workshops week to week. For me, these can vary from broad ideation sessions harnessing user feedback for new product features to in-depth design critiques with engineers, making sure we’re ready to start building.
At Accurx, it’s hard to walk past a meeting room without seeing post-its on walls or scrawlings on whiteboards, due to the workshops and brainstorming sessions that so often take place here. There’s tons of reasons we think workshops are great but here are a few of the big ones…
- They excite and motivate the team. 😃
- They invite the ideas of others. 💭
- They unlock tricky problems. 🔑
- They create opportunities for teams to feed back on their work. 🙌
But how do you make sure you’re getting the very most out of a workshop to really maximise its value? To answer that questions, I’ve put together this short (and sweet!) blog about how we run workshops at Accurx.
Workshops: The before, during and after
Before…
We make sure the workshop has a clear purpose. ☝️
As much as we love workshops, we’re always mindful not to just have a workshop for the sake of it. Setting out a clear purpose beforehand helps guide conversation and stay on track. Bonus points if the purpose or related reading is shared before the workshop so everyone is ready to contribute!
We make sure we’re using the right format. 🖼️
We always think about whether we’re using the right format for whatever the subject under discussion is. For example, if we want feedback on designs that are almost ready to go, having an ideation workshop that generates new ideas is not really an appropriate use of time.
During…
We manage the time well, with breaks if needed. 🕐
The person running the workshop makes sure the team has all the tools needed to have a great workshop. Whether that’s post-its and pens, a presentation to share or snacks. They also keep an eye on the clock so there’s enough time to reach the goal of the workshop before its end.
We encourage everyone to feel reassured and comfortable to share. 🗣️
This leads to a range of ideas being shared and creates positive energy all round by getting everyone involved. For example, sometimes we ask every team member to write down one idea and then verbally share that idea to the group. After this, you can ask every team member to generate as many further ideas as they like. This gives everyone a chance to speak at least once and lets people build upon the ideas of others.
After…
We share next steps! 🦶
A summary of the workshop is written up and shared with whoever might be interested (including those not in the workshop). If there are any next steps, there should be clear accountability on who should do what next.
After running a workshop, I personally like to take some time to reflect on what could have gone better. It might be that I tried a new workshop method that could be improved next time or that I could have better organised the time. For example, I used to find that when holding ideation sessions, I sometimes wasn’t setting enough context upfront. Now, I always work with a user researcher to help me set context and keep the ideation session user focused.
Why we do workshops at Accurx
For me as a Product Designer, workshops have been an invaluable starting point for thoughts, inspiration and creativity. Although workshops take time to prepare and finding a perfect time with multiple calendars can be challenging, without them, we would lose alignment and feedback within the team.
Workshops are also an everyday part of Accurx’s culture because they bring lots of different accuFolk together in a room (or virtual space) to bounce ideas off of each other. They’re also a great embodiment of our value of collaboration, and enable us to approach problems collectively, with the shared expertise, experience and skills of different team members behind us.
Think you’ve got something to add in a workshop at Accurx? Check out our latest opportunities on our careers page!
