Using Visualization to enhance workshops

1. Challenge

As a project manager, I often have the task of organizing and leading workshops. This is always one  of my favourite parts of the job. However, in the past they all seemed to follow the same blueprint  and especially at the end, they often resulted in excel lists or word documents being filled out  without much creativity.

2. Selection

When I first heard of visualization as a tool, I was quite sceptical, especially since I work in a technical  field with lots of engineers. Normally those kinds of people are not that creative or visual. However, I  saw great potential in enriching not just the workshops themselves but especially the results which  get created.

3. Application

For my first workshop for which I used visualization, I used it in several different ways. First, I  enriched all accompanying materials (such as flipcharts) with visual illustrations to enrich the whole  experience. And one effect was to signal the participants the amount of preparation that went into  that workshop.

However, the main application was during the workshop when I asked the participants to illustrate  their ideas and findings using visualization on a flipchart. This was a huge success, since it helped  them to think of additional aspects and not just the main points they usually focus on. And it also  facilitated the discussion with the other participants.

4. Insight

My main insight was, that using visualization really works. I helps participants to present their ideas  more clearly and therefore facilitates discussions.

Additionally, it’s not as difficult to use as I feared. There is a surprisingly small set of tools which are  needed (stick figures, boxes, arrows etc.) which allow a wide range of visualizations.

And it’s more accepted than I feared. Even experienced engineers which have never used it are able  and willing to try it after a brief introduction.

5. Approach

Since visualisation worked so well for me on the first workshop I tried, I now use it regularly with  great success. I’m now even planning on taking an external course to learn even more techniques I  can apply on a regular basis.


Using Visualization to enhance workshops 1 . Challenge As a project manager , I often have the task of organizing and leading workshops . This is always one of my favourite parts of the job . However , in the past they all seemed to follow the same blueprint and especially at the end , they often resulted in excel lists or word documents being filled out without much creativity . 2 . Selection When I first heard of visualization as a tool , I was quite sceptical , especially since I work in a technical field with lots of engineers . Normally those kinds of people are not that creative or visual . However , I saw great potential in enriching not just the workshops themselves but especially the results which get created . 3 . Application For my first workshop for which I used visualization , I used it in several different ways . First , I enriched all accompanying materials ( such as flipcharts ) with visual illustrations to enrich the whole experience . And one effect was to signal the participants the amount of preparation that went into that workshop . However , the main application was during the workshop when I asked the participants to illustrate their ideas and findings using visualization on a flipchart . This was a huge success , since it helped them to think of additional aspects and not just the main points they usually focus on . And it also facilitated the discussion with the other participants . 4 . Insight My main insight was , that using visualization really works . I helps participants to present their ideas more clearly and therefore facilitates discussions . Additionally , it ’s not as difficult to use as I feared . There is a surprisingly small set of tools which are needed ( stick figures , boxes , arrows etc . ) which allow a wide range of visualizations . And it ’s more accepted than I feared . Even experienced engineers which have never used it are able and willing to try it after a brief introduction . 5 . Approach Since visualisation worked so well for me on the first workshop I tried , I now use it regularly with great success . I ’m now even planning on taking an external course to learn even more techniques I can apply on a regular basis .