One-Day Project Workshops

Problem

Much time is wasted in unproductive project review meetings. The right people are not always present; insufficient preparation time is applied; there is not enough focus on the ‘real’ issues; people’s time is not always used effectively.

Solution

Our One-Day Project Workshops encourage projects to focus on the important issues. They leverage people's time and knowledge to produce constructive results and action-plans in a very short period.

Projects often use our Workshops to give impetus to projects that have become ‘stuck’, where multiple stakeholders need to be involved, where viewpoints differ, where risks and costs are unknown or ill-defined, and where people may be ‘too close to the problem’ to be able to stand back and see the way ahead.

Method

The key to a successful Project Workshop consists of preparing well, identifying the key stakeholders and involving them fully, selecting problem-specific analytical approaches, and giving succinct feedback.

JBA Project Workshops are always preceded by an informal briefing meeting between the client and our most experienced principal consultants. Each Workshop is individually prepared, based on the specific problem stated by the client.

The results of each Workshop are individually written up into a concise, informative and well-structured report that records the outcome of the meeting and makes explicit recommendations for further action.

The Steps Involved:

	Briefing Meeting Client explains the problem informally to JBA consultants, and provides background documents. Client (together with JBA consultants) identifies required stakeholders, invites them to the workshop, and makes logistic arrangements for the meeting.
	Offline Preparation JBA consultants analyse the problem. JBA consultants identify and evaluate candidate approaches, selecting the most suitable templates, methods, tools, and techniques. JBA consultants plan the workshop, usually in carefully-timed stages. JBA consultants prepare any necessary materials, diagrams, and models, using whatever tools are necessary.
	The Workshop Meeting (one day) JBA consultants present the planned framework for the workshop. JBA consultants introduce the problem and explain the analytical techniques to be employed. JBA consultants facilitate the stakeholders through the stages of the workshop, applying the selected analytical techniques. Stakeholders supply relevant facts and opinions. JBA consultants document the supplied information.
	Offline Debriefing and Reporting JBA consultants organise the evidence captured during the Workshop Meeting into a concise and comprehensive report, complete with recommendations.

Workshop Facilitators:

Ian Alexander

Ian graduated from Cambridge in Natural Sciences and has an MSc in Computing Science from Imperial College, London. He has extensive experience in requirements management training and consultancy with telecommunications, aerospace, and transportation companies. He is an expert in scenario-based requirements. His latest book, ‘Writing Better Requirements’, is published by Addison-Wesley. He helps to run the BCS Requirements Engineering Specialist Group and the IEE Professional Network for Systems Engineers. He is a Chartered Engineer.

Andrew Farncombe

Andrew has a first class honours degree and spent his early career in the software industry. He subsequently moved into the defence and aerospace sector where he held a number of senior technical and management positions including that of Technical Director, and led the codification of Systems Engineering knowledge and experience for one of the groups as a whole. At JBA he has applied Systems Engineering to the aerospace and transportation industries. Andrew is Visiting Professor of Systems Engineering at Cranfield University.

Applications for JBA Workshops:

Requirements Capture
Requirements Reviews
Design Trade-Offs
Hazard Analysis
Problem Identification and Solution
Test Readiness Reviews

Comments from those attending JBA Workshops:

"I would like to personally extend my thanks to you for last week’s workshop. The workshop allowed me to put into practice some of the learning of the 3-day Systems Engineering course that I attended last summer. Attending a course (and passing an exam) is one thing, but effectively putting it into practice is another. With your guidance at the workshop, I was able to experience and gain an insight to requirements capture."

Finding out more

Prices on application. If you would like further information or to talk to someone about your Systems Engineering needs, please contact us as follows: