Serious Play Forum

[Rob Oddi, CCMP, PMP]

Hi there,
When you’ve been contacted to put an LSP session together, you only have so much detail. I’m putting a proposal together for a client who wants a relatively short session (under 3 hours) for under 25 folks. I’m assuming the roadmap would come secondary. The proposal will be based on outcomes, but I do know their top 3 priorities, .. well, they’d be hard-pressed to meet them all in a 3 hr span considering 30-40 mins may be intro and skillbuilding. How you do manage expectations in this regard?? (This client is also open to doing a longer full day one later in the year).

I ask this because, i have yet to decide if this will be one with just me facilitating 3 tables or if i need to bring in another 2 facilitators. Perhaps i’ll put options out there. What do you do in your process when creating a proposal to make sure it will be realistic knowing your roadmap comes secondary?

Wanted to see if anyone had this concerns/issue before? thx

[Jill Langer]

Hey Rob,

As it is a relatively short session, for these types of proposals I try to keep them relatively short.

Here is the basic format I’ve been using;
– Background: Who is the team/organization you are supporting? What is the challenge they are currently facing? (Couple sentences) How can the LSP method address this challenge? (Short paragraph)
– Workshop Overview: What is the primary objective of the workshop? (1-2 sentences) List of proposed objectives (bullet list which roughly translates into the agenda for the workshop)
– Workshop Requirements: What space, materials, set-up, etc. do you need?
– Deliverables: What will the client get from the engagement?
– Fee Schedule: What will you charge?

For the overview, you could include timing to show how quickly 3 hours is filled up. Depending on how much time you are willing to put into the proposal you could include options. For the workshop overview, you could do Option A that is designed for 3 hours and Option B (which is option A plus additional activities to meet the remaining objectives) that is 5-6 hours to clearly demonstrate what can be accomplished in a full day.

In my experience, people overestimate what can be done in a short timeframe i.e. everyone wants a comprehensive strategy in a day. By providing a breakdown of the objectives and relative timing for each you can give them a clearer picture of what is required to achieve their outcomes.

As far as facilitators, I think it depends on a couple things. First, your experience/comfort in facilitating larger groups. For a 3 hour session, you probably could get by as a single facilitator if you have a good flow for the session. Second, the outcomes of the workshop as you get into building shared models, and groups are at different stages you will likely need the support of other facilitators for a smooth session.

Hope this helps. Good luck with the proposal!

Jill

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