Planning and running a successful target setting workshop

PLANNING AND RUNNING A

SUCCESSFUL TARGETS SETTING

WORKSHOP

Alaa Karam

Stockholm 2014-04-04

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Why this presentation?

• Recently, I challenged myself by taking the responsibility

to manage a Targets Setting workshop for 40 attendees in

a very short time.

• As any project manager I want to deliver my projects with

the best results that are according to my key stakeholders’

expectations and requirements and I also want to share

my experiences and competence in order to be reused

and forward developed.

• I hope that project managers and workshop facilitators

and others can find some inspiration and can use some

parts of this presentation.

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The ability to simplify means

to eliminate the unnecessary

so that the necessary may

speak. Hans Hofmann

Why this presentation? (cont’d)

• I presented some methods, tools and techniques in this

document and I hope that these methods, tools and

techniques will be as useful for you as they were for me.

• As many other assignments, conducting a workshop is

matter of:

• Agreement with your key stakeholders about the

purpose, scope, ambition level and the outcomes of the

workshop.

• And of course: Preparation, preparation and again

preparation

• Even if I tried to make this presentation as simple as

possible with a step by step approach, but I think you will

still find unnecessary parts for you. Please forgive me.

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Why a workshop? Why should we conduct a workshop instead of

using other ways to interact and work with attendees/experts?

• We know that there are many other alternatives for a face

to face communication and interacting with a group of

people. Some examples: You can invite people for a

training, seminar, conference etc.

• We think that a workshop has many advantages but the

most important one is the possibility to create dialog/the

two way communication with the participants.

• Better possibility for users/attendees to be involved and

share their ideas before, during and after the workshop.

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Individual commitment to a group effort - that is

what makes a team work, a company work, a

society work, a civilization work. Vince Lombardi

Why a workshop? Why should we conduct a workshop instead of

using other ways to interact and work with attendees/experts?

(cont’d)

• A well prepared and organized workshop should motivate the

participants and create an excellent environment for creativity

and brainstorming new ideas.

• A workshop environment has the possibility to allow the

attendees to know each other better and pave the way for

cooperation and good networking.

• Regardless if we starting a new project (e.g. new organization is

established, new change is initiated) we need to gain

commitment and signoff from all involved parts. In a workshop

you have the possibility for allowing the attendees to express

their opinions and getting agreements.

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"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people

together to collect wood and don't assign them

tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for

the endless immensity of the sea." Antoine de

Saint-Exupéry

When to conduct a workshop?

• In our case we wanted to obtain commitment on implementing 100 days

targets for our group.

• Workshop can be conducted when you have establish a new organization,

new project, new changes, new targets etc.

• As a line or project manager you need to do something for your new group

in order to ensure the group work together as a team. You may need a

kick-off event. The first step for a good cooperation is to know each other

and build trust between different members of the group.

• As a manager you need to form, inspire and maybe direct the team to

perform in order to achieve the agreed targets. We all know the famous

model; Tuckman's stages of group development: Forming – Storming –

Norming – Performing. The main outcome from this model is: it takes time

to create a performing team.

• We can list many other activities in which a workshop is useful:

• Training and Education of people [3].

• Information sharing and solving problems.

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Why a workshop method?

• We need first to explain what we mean by a workshop method. A

workshop method is the overall method that a project

manager/facilitator/workshop organization Team will use in order to

conduct a workshop.

• The workshop organization team need to decide what is the best

method for planning and running the workshop. Often the decision is

made by the project manager/the facilitator. In some cases you may

not need to declare what method you will use. As a project manager of

a workshop you may use the selected method for yourself to check

where you are in the path of the workshop.

• The basic principle for selecting a method is: Do not complicate this

issue, select a method that you as a project manager and a team are

comfortable with (PDCA, any project management method, etc.).

• The method should be flexible regarding changes in every phase.

A workshop method

• To deliver our workshop we will use the

following well known method:

• Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA). According to

Wikipedia [4]:

• PLAN: Establish the objectives and

processes necessary to deliver results in

accordance with the expected output (the

target or goals).

• DO: Implement the plan, execute the

process and make the product.

• CHECK: Study the actual results (measured

and collected in "DO" above) and compare

against the expected results (targets or

goals from the "PLAN") to ascertain any

differences.

• ACT: Request corrective actions on

significant differences between actual and

planned results.

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The workshop method

1. I added the stakeholder and stakeholders’ needs

as new component in the center of the PDCA

method. Stakeholders are the start point and

the end point of every assignment. As a project

manager, our job is to:

• Ensure the satisfaction of our stakeholders.

• Translation of the stakeholders’ needs to

understandable requirements in order to

ensure a correct delivery

2. Plans will start with scoping the goal,

objectives and requirements on the workshop.

3. Do according to the plan.

4. Check if there are some gaps between the

required outcomes and the actual outcomes.

5. We may need to take more actions to correct

the result.

We will describe the workshop method by applying

that in our case study: Target Setting Workshop.

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Our Case: Target Setting “The Story”

• In this part of the presentation we will apply the presented workshop

method in a real case with a more detailed description of how we

conducted the workshop. Here is a short description of the story of the

workshop.

• Assume that a new group with 3 different teams was established in a

new organization.

• The manager of the group decided to arrange a kick-off event for the

group.

• The manger wants to use this event to not just a “know each other”

opportunity, but to give the possibility for the group to work together

in setting and achieving agreed targets.

• Target should be aligned and connected to the overall strategy of the

enterprise and the mission of the group.

What you get by achieving your

goals is not as important as what

you become by achieving your

goals. Henry David Thoreau

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Our Case: Target Setting “The Story” (cont’d)

• Targets (to some details) should be accepted by all the 3 teams in the

new organization

• The manager wants some volunteers for establishing a workshop

organization team.

• You as an experienced project manager a fearless Business Architect

raise your hand and volunteer yourself.

• In a first meeting the manager and the volunteers decide on who will

do what.

• You will be the project manager and the responsible for the planning,

design and the outcome of the workshop.

• You may not know all the details at the beginning, but you need to

start with what you know at that moment and what you and others

can do from the first day.

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Our Case: Targets Setting Workshop

The First Decisions

• The first thing you (as a project manager) will do is to plan

for a first meeting with your team.

• Decide the agenda and check what is the purpose, scope,

objectives, deliverables, constraints like financial issues,

time to deliver and when your job (the workshop) will be

decided as finished/handed over. I mean the success

criteria.

• You can always start with defining the problems that the

workshop will solve (e.g. making a direction to a new

group).

Put the first things first. Habit 3. “The 7

habits of highly effective people”.

Stephen Covey

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The First Decisions (cont’d)

• Some activities can take time. You have to find these activities (if

any). Seek answers for the main questions. In our case, some of

these questions were: Who will decide on the targets?

• How and to which level the attendees will be involved in setting

the targets?

• You may need to discuss and agree about how to solve these

activities in the very beginning.

• Decide who are the attendees of the Target Setting workshop?

• In our case they were the members of the new organization. Ask

who else will be/should be involved? You need to book all your

attendees in good time.

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The First Decisions (cont’d)

• You need to decide about other important things:

• The date for the workshop in order to book the local and

send message to the attendees

• Book a suitable local

• Decide the roles for your team. You need to define the roles

and responsibilities for your team and for other involved

resources.

• The sponsor (in our case the group manager) and your

workshop organization team will be your first stakeholders.

You need to create a stakeholders map and start to manage

expectations and concerns.

• You will use the stakeholders map as a basis for your

communication plan.

Our Case: Targets Setting (structure your world)

• During the workshop’s life-cycle you and your workshop organization team will

produce many documents. You need to structure your documents in a way

that the team and other stakeholders can easily find your latest work.

• The following structure describes the main folders that we used in our

workshop.

• We used our document management system to create an area for our

documents and to manage the versions of these documents.

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1. Stakeholders

• If we go back to our method, we put our stakeholders and their needs

in the middle of the PDCA method and we decided to start with the

stakeholders.

• The first step is to identify these stakeholders.

• Some main principles:

• If you have many stakeholders and if there are risks for conflicts

between different interests and expectations, then you may need

to analyze your stakeholders’ power and influence in your

assignment.

• Clarify and meet their expectations

• At the end you may not satisfy all your stakeholders. The key

stakeholders with the most power and influence are very

important to concentrate on.

• Then as a workshop project manager, you need to map the

stakeholders’ expectations, needs, requirements and concerns in a

stakeholders map. You may keep the map to yourself, but you will need

to use the map as direction for your communication plan.

"The only way the world will ever be a safe place to

express our full uniqueness is if we can learn

together that your view need not pose a threat to

mine.“ Susan Campbell

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1 Identify Stakeholders

(basic principles)

• Identifying stakeholders is not an easy task and you as a project

manager have to seek proactively for new stakeholders.

• Face to face meeting with stakeholders is a good way to obtain and

gather their concerns.

• A good way to obtain commitment is to actively engage your

stakeholders

• Some of these stakeholders could be a part of your team

• You need to build trust with your stakeholders

• You may need to define and describe your stakeholders

• The next page describes the main concerns and expectations of the

key stakeholders. In our case the sponsor (the manager) was one of

the key stakeholders.

• Clarify and meet their expectations, assign responsible for every

activity, see the next page.

Seek First to Understand, Then to

Be Understood. Habit 5. “The 7

habits of highly effective people”.

Stephen Covey

1 Stakeholders Map (your main stakeholders)

Stakeholder Concerns and expectationsHow to meet their

expectations

How to

communicate

Sponsor of

the

workshop

Accomplished objectives for the

workshop regarding the target setting.

High level of team participation and

involvement in the workshop. Costs

below the budget. Deliver in time.

Define and decide the

objectives of the

workshop. Scope

management. Create

high attention.

Status

meetings

Logistics

Responsible

Find a suitable local for the workshop

and the attendees.

Help the responsible if

needed. Create a list

with possible locations.

Meetings

Attendees

Getting right information in right time.

Define the level of involvement before,

during and after the workshop.

Purpose and outcomes, time, local etc.

Create an agreed

communication plan

and decide on content

of the workshop and

how to involve them.

E-mail,

meeting, status

reports

Workshop

Facilitator

Agreed agenda, suitable and logical

sequencing of activities that aim to

accomplish the agreed objectives.

Ensure that an agreed

agenda is decided.Meetings

You need to assign a responsible for these activities. In our case the project manager was the responsible.

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2 Plan the workshop

1. Define the purpose of the workshop (goal, scope, outcomes,…)

2. Create an agreed overall work breakdown structure and

milestones and visualize that.

3. Establish a workshop organization team and assign the activities

in the plan to the workshop organization team

4. Agree about a communication plan, action plan and identify new

workshop’s stakeholders (if any).

5. Create the necessary content/documents and package the

Master Presentation for the workshop.

6. Logistics and practicalities (need to be decided in the beginning)

Decide the location

Plan for Lunch, Dinner, refreshments (if needed).

Information about: Transport, hotels, maps etc.

Material (pens, post it, flipcharts, video,….)

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2.1 Define the propose of the workshop

• You need to start with the sponsor/the owner of the outcomes

of the workshop. Check her/his view of the benefits of the

workshop and which problems will be solved by conducting this

workshop.

• Creating a business case for a workshop could be overkill, but

this is depending on how the sponsor wants that.

• It is very important to agree about a good and a simple

formulation of the (Purpose, Scope, Objectives and

Deliverables). The description should be straightforward and

understandable by every member of the group/attendees.

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2.1 Define the propose of the workshop (cont’d)

• The communication is the key here. You as a project manager

and the owner as the key stakeholder are responsible for

communicating and making the description of the (Purpose,

Scope, Objectives and Deliverables) as simple and

understandable as possible.

• In our case we had the following ambition level for the

deliverables:

• A list of common Targets. The list should include appointed

responsible and teams for implementing these targets. And

preliminary WBS and plans for delivery of the targets

• We had to communicate to and get feedback from the team

managers and some experts in the group regarding:

• The description of the Purpose, Scope, Objectives,

Deliverables and the list of the targets, see the next page.

2.1 Define the propose, scope, objectives and

deliverables of the workshop

•Establish collaboration between the members of the group

•Create an environment for getting to know each other

•Share common targets and work together to achieve them

•Understand our challenges and expectations

Purpose

•Common Targets for the organisation

•Cooperation between teams and Team WorkScope

•Ensure that our Targets are Aligned, committed and prioritized

•Ensure that Teams are committed to implement the TargetsObjectives

•A list of common Targets

•The list should include appointed responsible and teams for implementing these targets.

•Preliminary WBS and plans for delivery of the targets

Deliverables

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2.1 Define the success criteria

• We need to define the success criteria in order to declare and

agree when the workshop is finished.

• According to [6] we should ask the customer several questions:

• "What does success look like?“

• "How do I know I've completed the project?“

• "How do I know I've done a great job?“

• and finally, "How will all this be measured?“

• We may need to establish and follow an agreed measurement

metrics for different success criteria (if needed). If you need to

do that, again, keep it simple.

• The success criteria will be used in the check and act phase to

determine if we have gaps or if we accomplished the work.

Never tell people how to do things.

Tell them what to do and they will

surprise you with their ingenuity.

George S. Patton

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2.1 Define the success criteria (cont’d)

In our case the main success criteria were:

• By the end of the workshop:

• A list of realistic and committed targets is defined

• The responsibility of the targets are divided between

different teams in our groups

• Every target has main responsible person and the time for

delivery of the target is defined

• All the targets are explained and braked down into main

activities

• By the end of the 100 days

• Members of the group and teams know each other and

worked together to achieve the targets

• The agreed targets are achieved

• A celebration party is arranged (or is planned to be

arranged)

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2.2 Create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

• WBS is one of the most important activities in a project or an

assignment

• You do this activity with help of a team/experts and you need to

involve the sponsor of course

• The main principle here is to create an hierarchy of

elements/components of your undertaking. Start with defining

the main ones in order to have a good overview of your

assignment

• Decompose the main activities into smaller activities and tasks

that could be easy to estimate (the required time to be finished)

and easy to be assigned to a responsible role

There is likely no factor that would contribute

more to the success of any project than having

a good and complete definition of the project’s

scope of work [7].

2.2 Create a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

• A simple presentation of a WBS for our

workshop is illustrated in following figure.

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"Nothing can exist

without order. Nothing

can occur without

chaos." Albert Einstein

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2.2 Activity list

• We need to schedule the project to meet the key stakeholders’

(e.g. sponsor/user) expectations

• The schedule need to be agreed by the involved stakeholders

• Based on the WBS, you create a timeline with the main

activities, the required time to finish these activities

• If the team that you will work with is already decided and

available, then you may assign responsible for every activity

• The activity list could be also used:

• As an indicator for the completeness of the tasks

• To create milestones

• To create the critical path chart

2.2 Activity list

• A Gantt Chart is very useful tool to visualize your schedule

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2.3 Establish a workshop organization team

• In our case the team was ready to start from day one when the

voluntaries were accepted by the owner.

• For our workshop we decided to have 5 members in workshop

organization team:

– The owner/sponsor

– Project manager

– Facilitator/agenda owner

– Content owner

– Administrator/logistics responsible

• You may need to define these roles (or similar roles) and the

responsibilities for these roles.

• You may of course assign different roles to one member of the

team.

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2.3 Establish a workshop organization team (roles)

Role in the

workshopResponsibility

Workshop

Owner/Sponsor

Setting objectives for the workshop. Ensuring the right people are in the workshop. Processing

and Follow up of the achievement of the agreed Targets.

Logistics

Responsible

Logistics of the room/location, transport (if needed), lunch, refreshments, coffee, water and

other practicalities.

Facilitator

During the workshop the facilitator coordinates the activities according to the agenda and the

objectives of the workshop. The facilitator keeps the pace, stimulates discussion, and ensures

people can share and present different viewpoints. Responsible for conducting the workshop

activities and executing the workshop by creating environment for an active involvement and

participation of the attendees of the workshop.

Content

Designer

The responsibility of the content designer is to design or select a suitable method to describe

our Targets in an understandable way. We selected the A3 method; Problem Solving template.

AttendeesAttendees will provide and present the assigned homework and will commit and own targets

and targets action plans.

Planner/Project

Manager

With help of the workshop organization team, plans the workshop that will accomplish the

owner’s objectives. The main responsibility is planning and coordinating the required activities

in the pre-workshop and post workshop periods. Proactively identify challenges and plan actions

to solve the problems. Send out the pre-work/homework the attendees must complete prior to

the workshop.

Workshop

Organization

Team (WOT)

A team consisting of the owner, logistics responsible facilitator, planner, method-agenda-

homework owners. The team can act as steering committee for the workshop project. The

sponsor/owner is the head of the committee.

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2.3 Establish a workshop organization team (schema)

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2.4 Communication plan

• As soon as you decide the date of the workshop and the

location, you need to communicate that with your

attendees.

• A communication plan is a good instrument to agree about

what, when and how to communicate with different

stakeholders that are effected by your workshop

• Take that as a rule: A well planned workshop has a well-

defined communication plan

• The communication plan is based on the stakeholders map.

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2.4 Communication plan

Activity To Whom End Date Status

1. Sending mail to the workshop participants about

the date and the booked local for the workshop

Workshop

attendees

2014-01-10 Completed

2. Sending mail about the homework 1 (Know each

Other)

Workshop

attendees


3. Sending mail about the homework 2 (workshop

targets)

Team

Managers


4. Send an agreed version of the Master Presentation Workshop

attendees


5. Communicate the agreed outcomes (Targets,

Decisions,…) from the workshop

Workshop

attendees


6. Sending mail to book a local and date for

presenting the final results of implementing the

Targets. The date of the meeting will be some time

after the 100 days (in May 2014)

Workshop

attendees


You may need to add some other columns (e.g. responsible)

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2.4 Action plan

• Without actions and decisions you will not move forward

• When the activities, the duration and the accomplished dates are

defined, the responsible for these activities should be appointed.

• The action plan and the communication plan will remain as your

(project manager’s) instrument during the rest of the days until you

run the workshop and you achieved the targets.

• Therefore you (as project manager) may think about the start and the

end of your responsibility domain. I mean when your work is finished.

What would be your role after the workshop?

• Is your responsibility finished when the workshop is finished or when

the targets are achieved?

• These things need to be clarified, otherwise the sponsor may have

some other expectations on you. Again, dialog and communication is

the key here.

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2.4 Action plan (decision Points)

Decision Points Decision End Date Status

1. The workshop Date. New date 27th of January 2014-01-08 Completed

2. Local and other practicalities (lunch,

refreshments, material).

K works on this issue. 2014-01-08 Completed

3. Targets List (Gross Lists). The suggestion from X is agreed within the

workshop organization team.


4. Management of content and the

workshop follow Up (before, during and

after) the workshop including a template

for visualization of the Targets.

Y will present a suggestion for a method.

Need to be inserted in the Master

Presentation.


5. Pre-work package nr 1: To Know each

other

H will present a new suggestion. To be

agreed within the workshop organization

team in the next meeting 13th of January.


6. Pre-work package nr 2: Teams Work

with the Targets

X sent an e-mail to the team mangers

including the Target Gross list and how to

work with these targets within each team in

our group.


7. Agenda for the workshop. H and Y created a new suggestion. Need to

be agreed by the workshop organization

team in the 13th of January’s meeting.


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2.5 The Content of the Workshop

• The content is about the main message and what you want to achieve

before, during and after the workshop.

• In our case, as you know, the content was about:

– Create opportunity to know each other

– Setting, presenting and analyzing our targets

– Defining the main activities for these targets and assigning a

responsible for every target

• In every project you will face some challenges. Our main challenges were:

– How to set and communicate the targets?

– What method should be used here?

– How the group/teams, the corresponding team managers should

contribute and support to set the main targets before the workshop?

– Do we have time to communicate a gross list of the targets and get

feedback from attendees before the workshop?

– Should we work directly in the workshop with the gross list provided

by the manager?

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2.5 The Content of the Workshop

• The first question for the sponsor would be: Should we

have a top-down created targets or bottom-up or a mix of

the last two? (See the next pages).

• You and your organization team (including the sponsor)

need to take a decision about:

• How to set your targets?

• How the attendees should be involved (before, during

and after the workshop)?

• Who will decide on the right targets?

• Is it the sponsor or the team managers or the group or

a mix of these roles?

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Target created this way are often related and aligned to the company’s objectives and the company’s strategy.

It can be a challenging issue to get buy-in from the team for top-down approach especially if the team is not involved in creating these target. There is a risk that the team may not see the importance, alignment and the connection of these target to the daily work of the attendees.

2.5 How to set targets (Top-Down Approach)

The top-down approach to target setting is where the company’s

management identifies the goals and the teams implement these targets.

What does this approach means for our workshop? The top-down approach means

that we (the workshop organizing group) agree about using the gross list of target

that will be provided by manager as the main list. Then the workshop attendees need

to commit to these goals and take the ownership of these goals and work towards to

implement these goals.

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Easy to get buy-in and commitment from the teams. The teams are highly involved in creating and identifying the goals.

Targets created this way may not be related (directly) to the company’s objectives and strategy. It can be a challenge for the manager and the team to align these targets to the company’s objectives and strategy. Another disadvantage for this approach is the time to get an agreement about common targets for all teams. There is a risk that this approach could take long time to get a common agreement within the group.

2.5 How to set targets (Bottom-up Approach)

In the bottom-up approach, the members of a team create their own

targets.

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2.5 How to set targets (Bottom-up Approach)

In our case and for our workshop: We may do the bottom-up

approach in different ways:

1.The workshop group agrees about giving the possibility to every

workshop participant to provide their goals (before and under the

workshop). Then the workshop participants need to evaluate,

prioritize and select the right goals and take ownership of these goals

and work towards to implement these goals.

2.To avoid many discussions and to focus on real goals that are

already thought out, we may ask the team managers to discuss with

their teams and prepare goals for the workshop. This way make the

workshop easier and the workshop participant could focus on more

agreed goals.

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Easy to get buy-in from the team. Teams are involved (to certain level) in creating, identifying and of course selecting/prioritising the targets.

The main challenge is to prioritise and select the right goals that could be agreed, committed and owned by the teams. The risk is that the group need to choose between many different targets (if we assume that every workshop participant or team provide one or more targets in additional to the manager’s targets (the gross list).

2.5 How to set targets (Mixed Approach)

In the reality a mix between the top-down and bottom-up approaches

could be very helpful way to obtain the satisfaction of the managers and

the buy-in from the team.

2.5 How to set targets (Mixed Approach)

• In our case and for our workshop, this approach means that we (the workshop organizing team) agree about using the gross list of targets (from the manager) and in addition give the workshop participants/teams the opportunity to come with their targets (maybe one or two targets each). To avoid many discussions and to focus on SMART targets, we may ask the team managers to discuss with their teams and prepare as SMART targets as possible for the workshop. A team has the freedom to pick targets from the gross list and make the targets more specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, time-bound.

• This way makes the workshop much easier and the workshop participant could focus on more agreed targets. (Remember it is all about preparation).

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2.5 The decision about how to set our targets

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You may need to check the culture of the organisation before taking a decision about how to agree about setting the targets

If the culture of the organisation is indicating that the decision are always taken in the top level and the lower level will just implement and there are no reasons to change that, then the best way will be a top down approach

If the culture of the organisation allows the employees to be involved in taking decisions then the mixed or the bottom-up approach are good ways to achieve more committed targets

In our case we used the mixed approach. The Gross list from the manager was accepted by all the 3 teams and every team added some own targets to the list.

2.5 The Gross List

• The gross list of targets from the manager was communicated with the 3 teams before the workshop.

• The gross list was partitioned between the 3 teams according to every team’s assignment.

• The 3 teams had the possibility to agree about own targets.

• Common Targets was created to allow the 3 teams to cooperate and achieve common targets.

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2.5 How To Evaluate, Prioritise and Select Targets

• For evaluating, prioritising and selecting targets, we can use the MoSCoWand/or S.M.A.R.T criteria/methods.

• When the targets are selected and prioritized, then we need to assign these targets to the teams. The team will do the necessary work in order to accomplish and provide the desired results for these targets.

• The questions here will be:

– How we will build our teams?

– Based on which principle (organisational structure, required competences to implement our targets, other principles)?

– One of the main objectives of the workshop is to allow the group members to know each other. Mixing competencies from different teams and allowing these persons to work together, is the best way to achieve this goal.

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2.5 The Overall Process

• Now maybe it’s time to draw the overall process from Identified Targets To

Accomplished Targets

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2.5 The Process From Assigned Targets To Accomplished Targets

• The following diagram is a more detailed chart for the process step number 6 in the

previous page. The teams can accomplish their targets via starting a project or an

assignment

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Integration of method, technique and tool

• Even if we have a very good method to define our targets and we have a mature gross list, we still need to manage these targets and make them more understandable for everyone.

• Here you need to decide about how the attendees should analyse and present the progress of their targets in a best way.

• There are many tools, templates and diagrams available for problem solving. These tools, templates and diagrams can be used for our purpose.

• We can mention two of them:

– The A3 template

– The fishbone diagram (Ishikawa diagram)

• Again, select a tool that is easy to use and understand, fit for the purpose and is recognisable by the group.

48

You can manage, what you can measure; you can measure,

what you can define; you can define, what you can

understand[8].

The A3 Template

• A3 refers to a European paper size that is roughly equivalent to an American 11-

inch by 17-inch tabloid-sized paper. The A3 format is used by Toyota as the

template for three different types of reports:

– Proposals

– Status

– Problem solving

• There is no “magic” in the steps through which the structured A3 Problem Solving

template takes a team. These steps are basically:

1. Identify the problem(s) or need(s)

2. Understand the current situation/state

3. Develop the goal statement – develop the target state

4. Perform root cause analysis

5. Brainstorm/determine countermeasures

6. Create a countermeasures implementation plan

7. Check results – confirm the effect

8. Update standard work

• These steps follow the Deming Plant-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, with steps 1

through 5 being the ”Plan”, Step 6 being the “Do”, Step 7 being the “Check” and

Step 8 being the “Act” [9].49

There is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9

The name of the Target/Problem To Be Solved: Responsible:

• Define the problem. What problem(s) are we trying to solve?

• What are the needs? What you want to achieve?

• Start with identifying your stakeholder and gather the right

Information from the right sources.

• What benefit does solving this problem have for the

stakeholders? [10]

Problem / need / Target

• Even I f you have a good picture of your target, you need to

know where to start and you need to know if there were

some work has been done before you. Ask about:

• What’s been done to solve this already?

As-is situation

• What outcomes do your stakeholders want?

• Visualize the desired results and agree with the customer

about these outcomes.

To-be situation

• When the problem is defined, breakdown it into smaller parts.

• Clarify the root cause. Consider as many potential cause factors as possible.

• Use the fishbone - Cause and Effect Diagram

Problem analysis

• List as many potential countermeasures as possible. Identify an effective countermeasure that directly addresses the root cause. [10]

Countermeasures

• Perform your work iteratively

• apply the 80:20 rule: 80% of results come from 20% of effort

• Select the most practical and effective countermeasure.[10]

• Create a clear and detailed action plan.

• Assign responsible roles for the activities

• Estimate the activities and create the timeline

• Implement and test

Implementation Plan

• Monitor progress and report findings to stakeholders.[10]

• It may require more than one attempt to get the desired

result.

• Mistakes are an important part of the learning process.

• Compare the result with the desired outcome

from your stakeholders

Effect

• Document the lessons learned and implement your lessons in the next

iteration

• Handover and Governance of the result should be agreed and

implemented

• Potentials for improvements should be analyzed and suggested

Next Steps

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

0

More About The Tool

• As we mentioned the A3 is a very flexible tool.

• You can apply the iterative approach on your countermeasures, see the previous page.

• I used a free A3-8 step template from [10] as inspiration for my work.

• I should mention that there are some books in this area:

– Understanding A3 Thinking: A Critical Component of Toyota's PDCA Management System; ISBN-13: 978-1563273605

– Managing to Learn: Using the A3 Management Process to Solve Problems, Gain Agreement, Mentor and Lead; ISBN-13: 978-1934109205

• We in our department used A3 for different purposes:

– Financial Reporting

– Problem Solving

– Process Improvements

51

The Tool

• We decide to use the A3 template for different reasons:

1. The A3 template is easy to use and fits to our purpose

2. A3 template is flexible and adaptable for (e.g. adding new

attributes).

3. A3 template is according to our requirements on visualisation

and communication of our targets and target’s progress. We

decided to show our A3 by paste them on our walls in our floor.

4. The A3 tool is built around our previously selected method (the

PDCA method).

5. The A3 tool is widely used and it is a recognised standard for

problem solving.

52

6 Logistics and practicalities

As we mentioned previously, logistics and practicalities is very important

to take care of in the beginning.

• The logistics’ responsible need to provide different alternatives of

locations for the workshop.

• Decision about the location should consider the availability, costs and

simplicity to transport to the location

• On of the best scenarios could be: The facility for the workshop is

located inside the office or the hotel where the attendees work or stay.

• The logistics’ responsible also needs to:

– Plan for lunch, dinner, refreshments, coffee, water etc.

– Send information about: Transport, hotels, maps and important

information regarding the logistics to the attendees.

– Provide material (pens, post it, flipcharts, video,….) to the

workshop

53

3 Do (the workshop day)

• Now the workshop day is arrived and

you and your team need to be there

early in the local. Check the local for

following details:

– Lights, Air-condition and heating.

Try to learn how these things

work.

– Tables and the place of the tables

are very important issue. In the

case of presenting each other,

then it is important to make it

easy for the attendees to see each

other. A ‘U’ structure of the tables

may help.

– Place nameplates, pens and other

useful material on the tables for

every member of the workshop.54

Devil is in the detail.

3 Do (the workshop day)

During the workshop:

• The agenda and The Master Presentation are the main

parts in the workshop. The facilitator relays on the

correctness and the completeness of these two very

important cornerstones of the workshop.

• Creating a good environment for creativity and sharing

ideas is one of facilitator’s task.

• Everyone knows her/his role in the workshop.

• Do not forget gathering the material and the outcomes of

the workshop.

55

3 Do (The Agenda)

56

Agenda Item

Duration in

minuets Time

1. Welcome and Introduction (Purpose of the workshop, expected

deliveries)

20 09:20

2. Presentation of the Agenda and practicalities 15 09:35

3. Presentation of every participant (part 1) 87 11:02

Break + refreshment 15 11:17

Presentation of every participant (part 2) 45 12:03

4. The workshop presentation; how we will run the workshop and

ensure the required outcomes (workshop method)?

27 12:30

Lunch 30 13:00

5. Presentation of the decided Targets 40 13:40

6. Agreements about the responsible and the responsible team for

every Targets (team work)

70 14:50

Break + refreshment 15 15:05

7. Analysing the Targets, the required activities and plan for

implementing the targets: The A3 template (team work)

100 16:45

Break 5 16:50

8. Summary of the outcomes of the Workshop and the next steps 10 17:00

3 Do (The Main Parts of the Agenda)

• The facilitator is the main person during the workshop day.

• The facilitator orchestrates the workshop’s items and allows the

responsible of every item to present his/her part.

• The facilitator may need help in different moments of the

workshop, especially when the time is arrived for starting the team

work.

• The team work (item number 7 and 8 in the previous page) is the

most important and critical part of the workshop. The attendees

were asked to:

– Agree about the responsible and the responsible team for

every Target

– Analysing the Targets, the required activities and plan for

implementing the targets using the A3 template

57

3 Do (The Main Parts of the Agenda)

• The responsibility for the targets was divided by different

teams. Approximately, every team had 3 targets.

• The principle for assigning the responsibility for a target was

based on voluntary wishes of the team members.

• If more than one wants the responsibility, then the manager

of the team needs to assign the responsibility to the one who

is the most suitable for the work.

• Every responsible for a target gathers a team according to

the required competence to accomplish the target.

58

59

We go back to our success criteria and check if they are accomplished by

the end of the workshop:

A list of realistic and committed targets is defined.

The responsibility of the targets was divided between different teams in

our group.

Every target has a main responsible person and the time for delivery of the

target is defined.

All the targets are explained and braked down into main activities.

By the end of the 100 days:

The following success criteria are out of the scope for now. These success

criteria will be checked when the 100 days are over.

Members of the group and teams know each other and work together to

achieve the targets.

The agreed targets are achieved.

A celebration party is arranged (or is planned to be arranged).

4 Check

�

�

�

�

5 Act

As we saw in the previous page, the below success criteria was not fulfilled.

All the targets are explained and braked down into main activities.

– Some Targets where not explained in an understandable way for the

attendees, see the agenda number 5 in page 56. The responsible for these

targets got homework to update the definition of these targets.

– As a project manager you may have to:

– Communicate the outcomes and the next steps to the attendees

– If some teams did not make their homework in a proper way, then

you may ask them to update their material.

– Publish the material.

– This is a manager’s task; creating a system (way) to follow up the

progress and keeping the employees motivated to accomplish the

targets.

– Identify, document and publish the lessons learned. You may need to

ask the attendees to evaluate the workshop.

60

• As we maintained in the beginning the purpose of the workshop

was to allow the members of the teams to know each other and to

identify the targets and execute these targets in 100 days.

• The owner of the workshop has the ambition to continue and

follow up the execution of these targets.

• The countdown starts the day after conducting the workshop.

• We decided to place our A3s in a war-room in our floor.

• The responsible for a target should update the progress of the

activities in the target. He/she will present the progress every

week at a certain time.

• The responsible could be asked anytime to report about her/his

target.

• We are still working on these targets.

61

“Strategy is 10 per cent vision and 90 per

cent execution.” Percy BarnevikFinally

ReferencesID Source

1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workshop_(disambiguation)

2 http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/workshop.html

3 http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/structure/training-and-technical-

assistance/workshops/powerpoint

4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDCA

5 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_breakdown_structure

6 http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/project-help/define-your-project-goals-and-

success-criteria-HA001211137.aspx

7 (Book) Earned Value Project Management: by Quentin W. Fleming(Author),

Joel M. Koffleman

8 http://www.discover6sigma.org/post/2005/11/operational-definition/

9 http://www.reliableplant.com/Read/22984/a3-problem-solving-lean

10 http://www.envirocentre.ie/News.aspx?ID=79D21E24-862B-4685-A66A-

2D7059FB72E2&PID=a257bece-c1e7-464a-9cd0-

fde10d3a18c3&NID=0a37b63a-2c87-459e-bae8-8e089a455936&M=2

62

Some words about me

• Where I’m from?

– I was born 1963 in Iraq/Baghdad

– From a Kurdish Family. Swedish citizen since 1995

• Family

– Married since 1992. I have a daughter and a son

• Jobs and careers

– Vattenfall AB (2000- Current):

• Solution/Business Architect/Project Manager

– ABB (1996-2000) – Software Engineer

• My Educations

– Electrical Engineer (master in science education)

– Two year’s education in IT in Mälardalens University in Sweden

• My Certifications

– IPMA Level C (2013)

– Certified Business Architect + Certified IT Architect + TOGAF 9 Certified

• If you want to know more about me, please contact me on

[email protected]