Facilitating Asynchronously

How do we create structure and engagement when we are working apart?

Without the ability to just "get everyone in a room together" we are faced with the need to explore new ways of collaborating. And there are even more decisions and modifications to consider as we mature the in-person sprint and workshop model for the increasingly remote world. We created a comprehensive resource to help others figure out when to work synchronously and asynchronously and then integrate those two modes seamlessly to get the best results. These tips, tools and resources can also be applied to remote collaboration and workshops, beyond sprints.

The Challenge

Combining synchronous workshops with asynchronous work is an opportunity for facilitators to guide participants by coordinating both their group efforts and autonomous individual contributions.

The Approach

What's included in the resource?

  1. Why consider Synchronous and Asynchronous work in a Design Sprint?
  2. What is Synchronous and Asynchronous Work?
  3. Considering when to work Synchronously and Asynchronously
  4. Combining Synchronous and Asynchronous Work
  5. How to make Synchronous and Asynchronous Work a Success
Maximizing time apart

Practical assets:

Deciding what can be done asynchronously: A set of questions that helps with deciding about the size and nature of the asynchronous part.

Maximizing Time Together: How to run a Design Sprint using only two hours of synchronous work per day.

Maximizing Time Apart: Opportunities to capitalize on async processes for several Design Sprint Activities.

Activity Map: A map of core Design Sprint activities, the time they take, the difficulty of conversion to async, and the risk associated with that move.

Mapping activities