Day-0 Calls: Avoid UX-Workshop Disasters by Aligning on the Basics in Advance

A large financial institution once hired a UX agency to facilitate a 5-day UX-design workshop. Due to a recent change in the institution’s policies, it was now able to accept a new type of banking customer, dramatically increasing and broadening its pool of potential customers. The goal of this workshop was to redesign the institution’s primary banking-application flow to appeal to this broader audience.

The agency assigned a facilitator to work with the main point of contact –- a project manager at the financial institution. Together, the two planned the workshop. They agreed on the goals and envisioned 5 days’ worth of activities to lead them to the desired outcomes. They also strategically assembled a diverse group of stakeholders who were well-positioned to solve the problem and identified a week when all group members could clear their calendars and focus on the workshop.

The week arrived. The team convened in a brightly lit conference room, surrounded on all sides by invitingly blank whiteboards. The facilitator rose in the front of the room.

After a brief introduction and an ice breaker, the first step was to share and agree upon a goal statement for the week. Because the facilitator and project manager had already hammered out the goal in advance, the plan was to write the initial goal on the whiteboard and to facilitate a brief discussion to iterate and fine tune the wording if needed.

The facilitator wrote the goal on the board and turned to face the room. “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” interrupted a voice from the back of the room. It was the CIO. “We’re here to discuss redesigning the main application? That’s not what I was told. That’s not in scope at all. Our roadmap is full for the next year at least.”

Some brief discussion followed between the CIO, the project manager, and some other stakeholders in the room, but it was quickly determined that the CIO was correct. All eyes turned to the facilitator. “Let’s take a quick break,” he improvised. He dismissed the participants for 10 minutes, during which time he quickly revised the plan for the day to include an extended exercise to align on a new goal for the week. That night in his hotel room, he revised the plan for the rest of the week based on the new goal.

Ultimately, the workshop was a success. The group achieved their revised goal and felt good about what they had accomplished during the week. Due to the facilitator’s adaptability and prior experience, he was able to pivot. That being said, it was a tense and stressful moment, and ultimately one that could have been avoided.

During a debrief with agency staff, the facilitator considered what went wrong, and what could have been done differently. “The morning of day 1 was too late to be agreeing on the foundational basics of the workshop,” he concluded. “What we needed was a day 0.”

What Is a Day-0 Call?

One of the most critical skills for any workshop facilitator is the ability to think and react adaptively. Any facilitator must expect the unexpected and be prepared to change their workshop plan on the fly, drawing from their toolkit of activities and techniques.

This being said, all facilitators still want to set themselves up for success by being as prepared as possible. If unexpected information or opinions arise halfway through a workshop, minor adjustments to an activity are often sufficient to accommodate them. But disagreement, particularly among executive leadership, about foundational basics like the goals of the workshop has the potential to derail the whole thing.

This is where a day-0 call comes in. Essentially, the facilitator identifies these basics — the assumptions that really must be agreed upon on day 1 in order to allow for a successful workshop outcome — and moves them to a virtual meeting prior to the workshop. This approach puts the facilitator and the group on much better footing to hit the ground running on day 1.

3 Components of a Successful Day-0 Call

There are only 3 essential components that you need to establish prior to a day-0 call:

• The agenda of the call
• Who should be on the call
• When should the call take place

Each component can be addressed by asking a simple question.

Agenda of the Day-0 Call

A day-0 call should ideally be quick and fast moving. Try to keep it to an hour or less. You want to identify just the few things that truly could derail the workshop. Leave other thorny questions for the workshop itself. Typically, the agenda of the call will involve just the workshop goals, as well as setting the stage for the workshop.

Who Should be on the Day-0 Call?

90% of the time, the attendee list will be the entire workshop-participant list. Occasionally you’ll want to also include an additional stakeholder or two, such as a senior executive who is invested in the workshop outcomes but is unable to attend the workshop. Attending the day-0 call will ensure these people buy into the plan and will prepare them for the workshop’s outputs and deliverable. Never selectively exclude certain workshop participants from a day-0 call because you think their buy-in is less critical.

When Should the Day-0 Call Take Place?

Most of the time, if you’ve done your homework, a major pivot won’t be necessary, but you’ll want to be prepared just in case. Try to hold a day-0 call a few days to a week prior to a workshop.

Secondary Benefit: No Surprises

The primary beneficiary of a day-0 call is the facilitator, but there is a secondary perk that benefits the participants. Namely, a day-0 call sets the stage and prepares them for what to expect when they show up at the workshop.

Announce workshop rules on the day-0 call as well. I always like to let people know, for example, that the workshop will be fully participatory. They will be expected to engage the entire time, meaning that webcams will be on for virtual workshops and no multitasking will be allowed. For in-person workshops, it is often helpful to impose a no-laptops rule — encourage participants to not even bring laptops into the room, so as to avoid any temptation. The no-laptops rule is consistently disappointing for participants to hear, so it’s beneficial to share it before the workshop to give them time to come to terms with it. You don’t want to start day 1 by annoying participants.

The Structure of the Day-0 Call

Here is a sample outline for a standard day-0 call:

1. Open the Call
2. Establish the basics
3. Set the stage

1. Open the Call

A day-0 call sets the tone for the workshop, so open the call with excitement and enthusiasm. Even if you think everyone already knows each other, do a quick round of introductions, just in case. One tip is to ask people to share their name, title, one thing they’re excited for regarding the workshop, and one thing they’re nervous about. This activity gets them in the habit of speaking and interacting, and will provide a lot of helpful feedback for the facilitator.

2. Establish the Basics

This is the real meat of the call. Let’s say the basic you need to establish is the workshop goal. There are two general options for how to go about it:

• Start with a draft, then iterate. Maybe the facilitator or the workshop organizer already have a pretty good idea what the goal should be. Display that initial draft goal in a document and ask for feedback. Modify the goal in real time as people provide input. (Tip: Don’t use a slide deck in presentation mode for this activity, as it conveys lack of editability and subtly discourages people from suggesting changes to the goal.)
• Start with a blank slate. Occasionally, you may need to start from scratch. In this case, share what you do know and facilitate some workshop activities to turn those known items into a goal.

Once the group is starting to coalesce around a single idea, try to obtain buy-in from the group and from the decider:

• Group consensus. Consensus is different from unanimous agreement. Think of consensus as a decision that every person can live with. The easiest way to obtain consensus is to wait until conversation has slowed and, then, directly ask the group: “How do we feel about this decision. Can we all live with this? Any objections?” Speak now, or forever hold your peace.
• Decider buy-in. If your workshop has a decider (i.e., a single person with decision-making power over the project), you’ll want to get their verbal agreement with the basics established so far. Even if everyone else is on board, if the decider disagrees, there is more work to do.

3. Set the Stage

Some participants may have never been in a workshop before. Let them know what to expect. Include photos or screenshots of the types of activities they’ll be doing. Stop short of giving them a full workshop agenda, however, to still allow yourself room to adapt as needed. This part is also a great place to share any ground rules you’ll be asking participants to adhere to during the workshop.

Conclusion

A day-0 call ensures that your workshop is set on the right track from the start. Participants may show up for a day-0 call confused or apprehensive, but they’ll leave it excited for the workshop to come. And when day 1 finally arrives, the full group, as well as the facilitator, will be prepared and armed with the tools they need to hit the ground running and work towards the goals they’ve all mutually bought into.