5 things for successful systems engineering workshops
Workshops can be an effective tool - both in systems engineering and in other areas. Unfortunately, however, workshops - like meetings in general - are sometimes perceived as a waste of time, and unfortunately they often are.
Here are a few simple tricks to ensure that workshops are not a waste of time.
When inviting participants to a workshop, it should be clear to them what the motivation is (why?), what the end result should be (what?) and in what form the result can be used (how?). Workshops should not be an end in themselves.
Once we understand what the result should be (output), we can investigate what "ingredients" we need (input). For example, if we want to design an architecture, we need to know the relevant information about the system to be developed. This information must be available in the In advance with enough time available for preparation. It must be clearly communicated that appropriate preparation is expected.
It is better to have too few participants in the workshop than too many. But they have to be the right ones. It must also be made easy for participants to decline the invitation.
The circle can be (significantly) enlarged when it comes to reviewing the results.
Someone must be responsible for the workshop and this person must be clearly named. The person responsible may or may not be the moderator. However, a good moderator is essential for the effective implementation of a workshop.
This is an issue that we are also familiar with from many meetings: People talk, but nothing happens afterwards.
But if we have clearly defined the goals and results in advance, we can then ensure that they are delivered, and in a timely manner. That's what the person responsible is for.
Conclusion
The above is not really new, but it is still so relevant and important that we should regularly remind ourselves of it. In systems engineering in particular, we work a lot with interdisciplinary teams. It is often not clear what the common goal is and how the results will be utilized. Reason enough to make this explicit.
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