You don't get a second chance to make a great first impression. Have your project kickoff meetings become stale, remote, or awkward conversations? After having one too many unproductive (and occasionally sleepy) kickoffs, Happy Cog reinvented it's project definition process around full-day, interactive activities and collaborative design exercises. Kevin M. Hoffman will explore approaches for identifying business strategy, company culture, and project risks before you even shake your client's hand for the first time, and then walk you through the strategy behind Happy Cog's kickoff processes for clients like Zappos.com, Georgetown University, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. #ias10
24. Facilitator
Is a neutral servant
Doesn’t evaluate
Doesn’t contribute
Coordinates/Manages
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25. Facilitator Recorder
Is a neutral servant Creates group memory
Doesn’t evaluate Records publicly
Doesn’t contribute Is silent
Coordinates/Manages Follows up afterwards
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26. Facilitator Recorder
Is a neutral servant Creates group memory
Doesn’t evaluate Records publicly
Doesn’t contribute Is silent
Coordinates/Manages Follows up afterwards
Group Member
Contributes ideas
Stays positive
Isn’t defensive
Checks/balances
@kevinmhoffman #kickoffs
27. Facilitator Recorder
Is a neutral servant Creates group memory
Doesn’t evaluate Records publicly
Doesn’t contribute Is silent
Coordinates/Manages Follows up afterwards
Group Member Leader
Contributes ideas Designs the meeting
Stays positive Selects attendees & roles
Isn’t defensive Decides upon goals
Checks/balances Becomes a group member
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42. 1 Conference
★ Editorial direction
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43. 1 Conference
★ Editorial direction
★ Divide and conquer
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44. 1 Conference
★ Editorial direction
★ Divide and conquer
★ Open but custom attendance
@kevinmhoffman #kickoffs
45. 1 Conference
★ Editorial direction
★ Divide and conquer
★ Open but custom attendance
★ Sufficient preparation
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46. Stakeholder “Frontloading”
Conduct your full stakeholder interview phase before
you hold your kickoff meeting.
This provides content for kickoff exercises and a
framework for you to test the expectations of
stakeholders against the larger organization.
@kevinmhoffman #kickoffs
47. Stakeholder “Frontloading”: Tips
Find a personal connection to the subject early.
Gather specific expectations regarding features and
functionality.
Be sure to inquire what are risks for project failure.
Maintain an “off-the-record” tone.
@kevinmhoffman #kickoffs
50. Multiple Meetings
Kickoffs at Happy Cog are never a single meeting.
We define a core team, and then branch out from that
core team into meetings that tackle the different layers of a
project in different, appropriately sized and staffed sub-
groups.
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54. 2 Business Strategy
★ Identify must-haves
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55. 2 Business Strategy
★ Identify must-haves
★ Work across the organization
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56. 2 Business Strategy
★ Identify must-haves
★ Work across the organization
★ Assess fit between groups
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57. 2 Business Strategy
★ Identify must-haves
★ Work across the organization
★ Assess fit between groups
★ Surface points of contention
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58. Prioritization Card Sort
Card sorts aren’t just for building sitemaps.
A variation on the poker game “Pass the Trash,” you can use
this technique to assess the priorities of a large
organization, and if you play your cards right, assess the
amount of variance between two organizations.
@kevinmhoffman #kickoffs
73. Prioritization Card Sort: Analysis
Topic Passes Average Client Avg. Happy Cog Avg. Variation
Donate to a Specific Program 8 1.31 1 1.67 -0.67
Get Help 1 5.23 5.42 5 0.42
Integrated Events Calendar 12 1 0.14 2 -1.86
Reviews of New Technology 2 3.38 4.71 1.83 2.88
Services Organized by Topic 2 6 3.57 8.83 -5.26
Sign Up to be a Volunteer 0 1.53 1.28 1.83 -0.55
Simulations 0 2.31 3 0.33 2.67
Volunteer for a Specific Program 1 0.46 0 1 -1
Out of 10, n=13 Out of 10, n = 7 Out of 10, n = 6
@kevinmhoffman #kickoffs
75. Priority & Feasibility Plot
This is something we picked up from Henning Fischer at
Adaptive Path’s UX Intensive.
Have all participants evaluate a list of proposed features on
a scale of 1 to 5, but limit the total allowed points to 3X the
number of features. Plot the results.
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76. Priority & Feasibility Plot: Step 1
Feature or Functionality Priority Feasibility
Donate to a Specific Program 2 5
Get Help 4 5
Integrated Events Calendar 5 1
Reviews of New Technology 3 1
Services Organized by Topic 1 3
Sign Up to be a Volunteer 3 3
Simulations 4 4
Volunteer for a Specific Program 2 2
Must total 24 24 24
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77. Priority & Feasibility Plot: Analysis
5 Donate
Get Help
4
Simulations
3 Volunteer
Priority
2 Volunteer for a Specific Program
1
1 2 3 4 5
Feasibility
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78. Priority & Feasibility Matrix
This technique requires:
Facilitator
Group Member
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80. 3 Design Studio
★ Develop shared vocabulary
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81. 3 Design Studio
★ Develop shared vocabulary
★ Volume of ideas
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82. 3 Design Studio
★ Develop shared vocabulary
★ Volume of ideas
★ Low risk
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83. 3 Design Studio
★ Develop shared vocabulary
★ Volume of ideas
★ Low risk
★ Build something!
@kevinmhoffman #kickoffs
84. Design Studio/Prototyping
Design studios have been around for awhile, but
Todd Zaki Warfel made them sexy with his Prototyping book.
Everyone starts with a blank grid, a pencil, and a time limit.
Have them prototype, form groups of 2, present, then critique.
Repeat until you get down to two large groups.
@kevinmhoffman #kickoffs
86. Design Studio/Prototyping
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Your Name: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Your Name(s):
November 9, 2009 November 9, 2009
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87. Design Studio/Prototyping
Design Studio/Prototyping
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
@kevinmhoffman #kickoffs
91. Social Mania
Based in part on their recent O’Reilly book Designing Social
Interfaces, Social Mania is a card game created by Christian
Crumlish and Erin Malone that allows encourages players
build & ship hypothetical social experiences.
It’s a great way to help “non-web” people understand the
social web. Make sure you have prizes.
@kevinmhoffman #kickoffs
96. 4 Culture
★ Create a new culture
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97. 4 Culture
★ Create a new culture
★ Explore and define values
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98. 4 Culture
★ Create a new culture
★ Explore and define values
★ Build trust & relationships
@kevinmhoffman #kickoffs
99. 4 Culture
★ Create a new culture
★ Explore and define values
★ Build trust & relationships
★ Identify challenges & colleagues
@kevinmhoffman #kickoffs
100. 20 Second “Gut” Test
Show someone a series of websites. Give them 20 seconds
to score their reaction to that site on a scale of 1 to 5.
Compare the overall averages, averages by organizational
division, and then follow up with folks on high and low
scorers.
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101. 20 Second “Gut” Test
Example
A Rate your reaction to
this website:
Dislike Like
1 2 3 4 5
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102. 20 Second Test
This technique requires:
Facilitator
Group Member
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103. Design X Health Check
We adapted the basic framework behind Austin Govella and
Livia Labate’s User Experience Health Check to evaluate the
visual aesthetic of individual functional components.
Uses a methodology similar to the 20 second test, but
evaluates individual interface components outside of their
larger context.
@kevinmhoffman #kickoffs
104. Design Experience Health Check
Example
Rate this element:
Bad Good
Importance
1 2 3 4 5
A2 Aesthetic Appeal
1 2 3 4 5
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105. Design Experience Health Check
This technique requires:
Facilitator
Group Member
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106. Design Experience Health Check
This technique requires:
Facilitator
Group Member Leader
@kevinmhoffman #kickoffs
107. Values Exploration
Projects excel when you can identify shared values between
you and your client.
Internally, agree upon your own values about a particular
aspect of your work, for example visual design. Then
prepare an open discussion based on examples of each
value.
@kevinmhoffman #kickoffs
108. Values Exploration
Happy Cog Visual Design Values
Beautiful Typography
Usability
Less is More
Understand Convention to Innovate
@kevinmhoffman #kickoffs