I first led this co-creation workshop with Chris Baum at UX Week 2017 in San Francisco, CA.

Description

Today’s complex design challenges require that designers be able to effectively collaborate in real-time with people from diverse backgrounds and experiences. When facilitating co-creation sessions, designers need to be able to “hold the center line” and see and hear clearly, free of preconceived notions and ideas. This workshop teaches practical techniques to help designers acquire the skills needed to successfully co-create with others to generate breakthrough ideas.

Topics Covered

Setting the stage

• The meeting space as a three-dimensional, shared scratchpad
• The importance of context to creative thinking
• The importance of people to the process
• The tools: Markers, stickies, projectors, etc.
• Ideal layout for the space

Capturing and generating knowledge

• Speed vs. accuracy
• Choosing the right level of granularity
• Choosing the right words to represent concepts
• Formulating open-ended questions
• Conceptual modeling

Creating an opening for insight

• Interpersonal dynamics
• Accommodating humans — when, how much, what?
• Technology — when, how much, what?
• Establishing a rhythm for the session
• Sharing learnings with people who weren’t in the room

Workshop Exercises

• Live capture and synthesis of conversation
• Managing sketching sessions and capturing the stories behind sketches
• Facilitating conversations
• Observing the dynamics in the room

Participant Take-Aways

• You’ll learn how to run a co-creation session
• You’ll improve your collaboration and facilitation skills
• You’ll find out how to carry the momentum from the co-creation session into your day-to-day practice