Welcome to the Facilitation Forum You asked and we responded. Now you can ask questions, get answers, and join in peer-to-peer conversations about meeting challenges and experiences. Some of you may just want to hover… that’s okay too. Some of the ‘socialware’ platforms we tried in the past were either not moderator-friendly and/or biased by their…
The Agile mindset demands frequent, if not constant, interaction among its project stakeholders. Perhaps more so with Scrum, than other frameworks. From Daily Scrum meetings to Sprint Retrospective meetings held every one to four weeks, having a formal facilitator or being a facilitative participant adds tremendous value to successful Sprints. So, who facilitates Scrum events…
In an earlier article (see: Risk Analysis – Method and Questions to Facilitate a Portfolio of Projects) we defined “best” by projects that scored favorably in an Innovation test by looking at the relative technology and market risks associated with new ideas (eg, process, product, etc.). With this article (geared for experienced facilitators and methodologists, but…
Successful leaders have one thing in common: Strong facilitation skills. What are these facilitation skills and how many do you need to lead a successful meeting? Depending on who you ask, there may be: 6 Essential Facilitator Skills 9 Meeting Facilitation Skills 9 Facilitation Skill Competencies Top 11 Facilitator Skills and of course, many, many…
You know that project portfolios focused on the best opportunities accelerate innovation. So how do you build consensus around the term “best”? George Day’s article[1] provides excellent logic to help you drive a consensual view of risk analysis. “The risk analysis matrix employs a unique scoring system and calibration of risk. It helps estimate the…
To build an action plan that transfers ownership and accountability to your meeting participants, begin with the right questions, in the right sequence. Be one of the few facilitators who understands that ownership transfers instantly because participants offer their own “WHO does WHAT by WHEN,” the primary components of any action plan. Consequently, whether you’re…
Agile’s ScrumMaster facilitator techniques ensure that business communities get quick and responsive results. Constant feedback helps teams prioritize and make adjustments. ScrumMasters constantly facilitate product owners’ requirements and development team efforts. ScrumMaster experience and discipline prove that every structured meeting should embrace ‘agile’ practices. Professional facilitation lends essential skills to the ScrumMaster role because an…
Below are eight habits we call meeting killers that every facilitator, or meeting leader, must avoid. #1 – Neglect to prepare your participants in advance. Have you ever been in a meeting where someone asks: “So, what’s this all about?” People attending a meeting should know the purpose of the meeting before they accept. Since…
With facilitation today there is no common, shared body of knowledge. In part, because facilitation is a fuzzy word and widely applied, there is no single definition — making Facilitation Certification fuzzy as well. In North America, there are three primary methods for certifying professional skills and knowledge. None of the methods is necessarily superior or inferior…
Meeting participants do not argue about verbs and nouns because they focus on modifiers. Modifiers include adjectives, adverbs and sometimes phrases that describe verbs and nouns. For example, participants won’t argue that “the job needs to be done”. Rather, they will argue that the job needs to be done well and done quickly. What qualifies as well and quickly…