Each workshop participant reads the front of each card and attempts to determine the relevance of the topic to the organisation or organisation entity. Reading and individual reflection could take about 2-3 minutes and will serve as a basis for the discussion during the actual strategy workshop.
Participants come with open minds and various ideas. Opinions will differ and will lead to a sound discussion, bringing views from different angles and perspectives.
Approach for discussing and formulating answers
The back of each card describes the approach for each topic discussion and provides directions towards potential solutions. The suggested approach and solutions are indicative in the sense that other scenarios or options might be more applicable depending on the context and specifics of your organisation.
Ensure that each participant can express his/her opinion, so encourage short speeches and not monologues. Remember that this is an iterative exercise and might require several rounds of discussion to finalise the strategy.
A four-step approach for a successful strategy
1. Preliminary strategy scoping (2 hours)
Participants, often senior IT management, go through all the cards and discuss which of these are relevant for your organisation and will serve as the basis for your strategy workshop.
2. Strategy workshops (1-2 days)
The selected cards are discussed in order of priority (as indicated by the slider) and per domain. The outcome of each discussion is registered by the moderator, thereby facilitating the final outcome. Several iterations may be required to arrive at a final strategy.
3. Validation (1 month)
The workshop results are detailed and consolidated in a single IT strategy document; these must be validated by executive management and major stakeholders.
4. Implementation (3-6 months)
You are now all set for implementing your strategy in your organisation, kicking it off with communicating your strategy to all employees and motivating them to engage.