I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve used (and shared) this Lean Inception agenda template. That’s why I share it to make your life easier, my dear fellow Lean Inception facilitator.
Agenda Template 1
On this agenda, the feature brainstorming happens before showing the user journeys. This is useful if you want the features creation/ideation to be very influenced by the business goals and personas needs. In this agenda, the User Journeys and then the Journeys & Features are used for validating and/or showing where we expect the feature to improve the user experience.
Agenda Template 2
On this agenda, the feature brainstorming happens right after the User Journeys activity. This is useful if you want the features creation/ideation to be very influenced by the user journeys.
Which agenda template do you use?
As a rule of thumb, if I am seeking more innovative ideas, I select the agenda template 1. Otherwise, if I want to influence the brainstorming by the user journeys, I’ll go for the agenda template 2. For remote workshops I have been mainly using the agenda template 2.
Sessions
KICK-OFF
The Lean Inception starts with a kick-off, followed by a sequence of intense activities. and ends with a workshop showcase. The team directly involved with the initiative must participate in all activities; the other interested parties must participate in the kick-off and the showcase, where the expectations and results obtained in the workshop are presented, respectively.
PRODUCT VISION
Somewhere between the idea and the launch of the MVP, the product vision helps you to walk the initial path. It defines the essence of your business value and should reflect a clear and compelling message to your customers. This activity will help you to define the product vision in a collaborative way.
THE PRODUCT IS – IS NOT – DOES – DOES NOT DO
This activity seeks classifications about the product following the four guidelines, specifically asking each positive and negative aspect about the product being or doing something.
PRODUCT GOALS
Each participant must share what they understand as a business goal, and the various points of view must be discussed to reach a consensus on what is really important. This activity helps in raising and clarifying the main objectives.
PERSONAS
To effectively identify the features of a product, it is important to keep users and their goals in mind. A persona creates a realistic representation of users, helping the team to describe features from the point of view of those who will interact with the final product.
USER’S JOURNEYS
The journey describes a user’s journey through a sequence of steps to reach a goal. Some of these steps represent different points of contact with the pro- duct, characterising the person’s interaction with it.
FEATURES BRAINSTORMING
A feature represents a user’s action or interaction with the product, for example: printing invoices, consulting detailed statements and inviting Facebook friends. The description of a feature must be as simple as possible, aiming to meet a business goal, a persona need, and / or contemplating a step in the journey.
TECHNICAL, BUSINESS AND UX REVIEW
This review aims to discuss how the team feels about technical, business and UX understanding for each feature. From this activity, new clarifications will happen and the disagreements and doubts will become more apparent.
SEQUENCER
The Feature Sequencer assists in organising and viewing the features and the incremental validation of the product. Define the MVP and its subsequent increments.
MVP CANVAS
The MVP Canvas is a visual chart that helps the team to align and define the MVP, the simplest version of the product that can be made available to the business (minimum product) and that can be effectively used and validated by the end user (viable product).
SHOWCASE
This is the time to demonstrate the MVP plan to the stakeholders. Let’s talk about the artefacts generated at the Lean Inception workshop and share the group’s understanding of the hypotheses to validate and the way forward.
DISCLAIMER: This agenda is flexible, and the the activity sessions may be adjusted depending on the information we gather along the way. The workshop outcome is more important than a specific session goal. The facilitator should adjust a specific session to better fit the desired outcome for the workshop.
>> Get the Remote Lean Inception template (Mural and Miro)
>> Download the LeanInception-AgendaTemplate (.pptx file)
Check list
Use a checklist to check all necessary actions before the inception. For example:
() Workshop agenda has been explained and shared with all participants.
() Participants have been selected and invited (stakeholders and active members).
() Experienced facilitator.
() Environments are available, prepared and the participants have the necessary access.
() The templates are ready for the different activities.
