A good design meeting ends with decisions that can be applied. Check how to prepare a workshop about the site and exit it with an orderly range.
Instead of discussing everything, choose decisions to make
When designing a website for the company from Warsaw, the first meeting can be held in an office or remotely. Its value depends primarily on the preparation of participants. It is worth to specify in advance which questions must be resolved: recipients, priorities of offers, necessary functions and limitations.
Not everyone has to participate in the whole process. Invite those who know customers responsible for the offer and can approve the scope. If a lack of information is revealed during the conversation, assign it to a specific person instead of replacing the fact with a common supposition.
Work on real customer tasks
Select a few situations where the recipient uses the site. He can look for documentation, compare packages or ask for a quote. For each situation set out what he already knows and what he needs for the next step. This gives the basis for designing the menu and content.
It is helpful to view the current service while performing such a task. If participants have to guess the name of the bookmark or refer to several pages, save the problem. You do not need to design a new screen immediately; first it is worth agreeing what makes it difficult to operate.
Example of a decision that can be implemented
The “offer is not modern” note does not indicate a specific change. After the conversation, it can be replaced by the finding: “We separate one-off and subscription service because they require another set of information before valuation”. Such decision affects the structure, form and content preparation.
To be determined add the owner of the information, date and test criterion. In this example, it will be possible to choose a type of cooperation and understand differences without additional conversation. The designer then receives a clear task, and the team will have a common basis for assessment.
What should be left of the workshop?
- A brief description of the recipients and their key tasks.
- Initial content map and list of needed features.
- Separation of mandatory elements and subsequent stages.
- Register of open questions with responsible persons.
- An agreed way of accepting the project.
Send the findings to the participants and see if they understand them the same way. A well-prepared summary does not have to be long; it should enable you to start the next stage. More about the hierarchy of content can be found in the text Information architectureand on post-analysis work — in the guidebook the stages of the website's design.
