How to Run a Remote Solution Sketching Workshop

A collaborative sketching workshop is a great way to generate multiple ideas to use for building a prototype. Sketching and rapid prototyping is an incredibly effective way to make ideas tangible, to learn through making, and to quickly get key feedback from customers. Because sketches and prototypes are meant to convey an idea, you can quickly iterate, building on what you’ve learned from the people you’re designing for. 

You might want to run a Solution Sketching Workshop when designing new features for a product or for improving existing features. Running a Solution Sketching Workshop might seem daunting if you’re used to in-person collaboration workshops. With the right format, facilitation, team, and tools, you can run a remote sketching workshop in 60-90 Minutes. We recommend keeping the group small to move faster (2-8 participants max), and time-boxing each exercise to keep the group on task and on schedule. Creating a structured workshop framework replaces open-ended discussion and creates an inclusive process that helps avoid groupthink, allowing everyone’s voice to be heard. 

Preparing for the Workshop

Start with a challenge and identify the smallest cross-functional group possible to help solve the problem. Choose a video conferencing tool like Zoom or Microsoft Teams, and a virtual whiteboard tool to use for your workshop. We use Mural or InVision Freehand, because both tools allow you to add an unlimited number of anonymous contributors—a great feature, because people don’t have to create an account to use the tool. Mural also has built in facilitation tools, like a timer and voting, as well as post-it notes, which are great for note and vote exercises. Set up your virtual whiteboard before your workshop with each activity you’ll be running. It helps to have each exercise numbered, named, and add brief instructions with the time allotted for each activity. This helps the facilitator and helps the team know what to expect for each exercise. Tools like Mural and Miro have a lot of great templates that you can start with. 

TIP: Send participants any instructions they need to prepare for the session in the meeting invitation, and send a follow-up reminder before the session (people don’t always read the meeting notes.) For example, if you’re planning on doing lightning demos, ask participants to think of examples before the session. If participants will be sketching using their own materials, ask them to have their supplies ready.

Running a Workshop

Format of the Workshop

Start with summarizing the project. Tell people why you are doing it and start with a problem statement. We like to reframe the problem statement as a How Might We statement. Problems are opportunities for design. By framing your challenge as a How Might We question, you’ll set the team up for innovative solutions.

Go over the format of the session in the first few minutes, and make sure everybody is on the same page regarding the problem and the objective of the workshop. Make sure everyone understands and is OK to move to the next step. 

Collaboration Tool DEMO

It’s a good idea to spend a few minutes showing participants how to use and navigate the online whiteboard before starting the warmup.  

Creative Warmup

Creative warmups are a critical part of the collaboration process. They help get participants into the right mindset, and set the team up for success. Start with a warmup that will help participants get comfortable with generating an abundance of ideas. Warmups also help get participants comfortable with using the online whiteboard tool you choose.   

Exercises

There are a variety of different exercises you can run in your workshop. You could start with a note and vote exercise to help identify questions and assumptions, or if you have a clearly defined problem that everyone is aligned on, you can start with exercises that will help you ideate solutions. 

Lightning Demos 

This is an exercise from Sprint, by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky. Before the session, ask participants to think about relevant examples of how other businesses have approached the same (or similar) issue that can be used as inspiration for the team. Encourage the team to look outside of your industry to help stretch your thinking. Quickly review examples (2 minutes each), and capture good ideas with a screenshot and share on your digital whiteboard.

Sketch Solution Ideas 

Ask participants to sketch their solution ideas using paper and pen/marker, or whatever materials they choose (in silence.) 

Set the timer for 15 minutes.

When the time is up, ask participants to upload an image of their sketches to your online whiteboard.

TIP: Remind participants that the goal of the session is to generate multiple ideas, and to turn ideas into something tangible. Assure the team that it’s about getting ideas out of their heads—it’s not about creating a perfectly detailed solution.

Present Solutions and Vote

Ask everyone to show and explain their work. (2 minutes for each presentation)

After each presentation, everyone votes on the top 1-3 ideas they like best, and feel could be prototyped. This creates a heat map on the sketch to identify the best ideas. (2 minutes for voting on each sketch)

TIP: Add circles to your board before the session that participants can use as dot votes.

You can also use supervotes to vote on the entire solution that participants feel could be prototyped. If you have a dedicated “decider,” you can just give them 1-3 supervotes. 

TIP: Use larger circles or stars for supervotes.

After solution sketching and voting, you can create a list of the top-voted ideas that you can build into your prototype. End the session with next steps or action items. 

For more tips and step-by-step instructions on facilitating a Remote Solution Sketching Workshop, checkout our guidebook.

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Want to run a Lightning Decision Jam? MB Collab can help you plan and facilitate it.