Back to the Future
It involves creating a roadmap starting from the end date and going back in time to identify the different steps that will lead to the success of a project, task, job, etc. as the future becomes the now. Participants will collectively share their vision of success for the goal.
Suggestions and variations
For an effective workshop, you need an appropriate group size: not too big, not too small. Ideally 5 people. You can create sub-groups and assign each of them to a Board. A representative can present the summary to the others.
The way the question is worded is very important. Consider testing it yourself before the workshop. You won't get the same kind of result on both forms of this same question:
How will our product help you hold effective meetings?
How did our product make your meetings effective?
Remind participants that they’re in the future. Using past tense while creating the timeline makes the exercise easier.
This workshop is very simple to run and can be adapted to a whole host of situations: project roadmap, client expectations on a project, criteria for a job’s success and even team building.
