Website workshops are essential for planning successful web development projects. They bring together stakeholders to align goals, define requirements, and create a shared vision. Here’s a quick overview of MOCA’s proven process:
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Preparation Steps:
- Identify key stakeholders using the MOCHA framework (Manager, Owner, Consulted, Helper, Approver).
- Define 3–4 clear workshop goals tied to business objectives, audience needs, and technical requirements.
- Conduct pre-workshop research (stakeholder interviews, analytics review, competitive analysis).
- Prepare tools, templates, and an agenda for smooth collaboration.
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Workshop Process:
- Start with an opening session to align roles, goals, and expectations.
- Use a priority framework to focus discussions on critical, important, and nice-to-have features.
- Collect technical, functional, and content requirements.
- Review design concepts collaboratively with wireframes and user flows.
-
Follow-Up Tasks:
- Document all decisions, action items, and design feedback.
- Share workshop results within 48 hours and collect stakeholder feedback.
- Turn insights into a detailed project timeline with clear deliverables and milestones.
MOCA emphasises structured preparation, digital collaboration, and thorough follow-through to ensure workshops lead to actionable results. Whether in-person or virtual, this process helps teams align and create websites that meet business goals effectively.
How to plan a workshop | The workshop planning canvas by ...
Workshop Preparation Steps
Planning a successful website workshop requires attention to detail and clear organisation.
Selecting Key Project Stakeholders
Use the MOCHA framework to define and assign roles within the team:
| Role | Responsibility | Example Position |
|---|---|---|
| Manager | Oversees progress and removes roadblocks | Project Director |
| Owner | Leads the project and ensures completion | Project Manager |
| Consulted | Shares expertise on specific topics | UX Designer, Developer |
| Helper | Assists with specific tasks | Content Writer |
| Approver | Makes final decisions | Client Stakeholder |
Clearly communicate each participant's role and confirm their involvement. This ensures everyone contributes effectively during the workshop.
Defining Workshop Goals
Workshop goals should directly support your organisation's mission. As Kenichi Omi, Japanese Organisational Theorist, wisely stated:
"Rowing harder doesn't help if the boat is headed in the wrong direction."
Focus on 3–4 key goals that address:
- Business objectives and financial outcomes
- Customer behavior and needs
- Technical constraints and requirements
- Design and branding preferences
These goals will guide the workshop and keep discussions on track.
Pre-Workshop Research
Gathering insights beforehand is critical. Conduct:
- Stakeholder interviews to capture expectations
- A performance review of the current website using analytics
- Competitive analysis to understand market positioning
- User feedback and behavior data
- A thorough audit of the existing website
This research lays the foundation for informed discussions and helps identify potential challenges early. Use it to structure the workshop for productive collaboration.
Workshop Setup and Materials
Prepare the following to ensure a smooth workshop:
- Digital Tools: Choose collaboration platforms suited to your workshop format.
- Documentation: Create templates to record decisions and outcomes.
- Visual Aids: Include examples and reference materials to spark ideas.
- Timeline: Develop a detailed agenda with time blocks for each activity.
These preparations will help create an environment that encourages meaningful discussion and effective decision-making.
MOCA's Workshop Process
Opening Session
Kick things off by outlining roles, the agenda, goals, and what you aim to achieve. Review any pre-workshop insights, clarify responsibilities, set discussion guidelines, and explain how documentation will be handled. After that, focus on bringing stakeholders onto the same page.
Team Alignment Steps
During initial discussions, MOCA emphasises identifying key project priorities. To make this process smoother, use a clear decision framework like this:
| Priority Level | Business Impact | Implementation Effort | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Critical | Direct revenue impact | Must-have | Phase 1 |
| Important | Indirect revenue impact | Should-have | Phase 2 |
| Nice-to-have | Adds extra value | Could-have | Phase 3 |
Once everyone is aligned, you can move forward with gathering requirements.
Requirements Collection
Collect requirements across three main areas:
- Technical Requirements: Determine platform capabilities, integration needs, performance benchmarks, and hosting details.
- Functional Requirements: Document user workflows, authentication methods, content management processes, payment systems, and administrative tools.
- Content Requirements: Plan your content approach by specifying types, taxonomy, migration needs, and SEO goals.
Feature Selection
Choose features by weighing their business value, user impact, technical feasibility, and maintenance requirements.
Design Concept Review
Review design concepts using collaborative tools. Work on wireframes, user flow diagrams, and content maps to visualise responsive layouts. Gather real-time feedback to ensure designs align with the project's goals and principles.
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Workshop Follow-Up Tasks
Results Documentation
Thoroughly record the outcomes of the workshop to ensure no critical details are missed:
- Key Decisions Matrix: List major decisions, organised by priority and impact.
- Technical Requirements: Include platform specs, integrations, and performance goals.
- Visual Assets: Save annotated wireframes and design mockups, incorporating stakeholder feedback.
- Action Items: Clearly assign tasks to team members with due dates.
Use a standardised template for consistency. Add timestamps and version tracking to simplify the review process.
Stakeholder Review Process
Follow a clear review process to confirm workshop outcomes:
1. Initial Distribution
Share a detailed workshop summary within 48 hours, including:
- Meeting notes
- Assigned action items
- Major decisions with explanations
- Visuals like wireframes or diagrams
2. Feedback Collection
Centralise feedback so stakeholders can:
- Comment directly on specific sections
- Propose changes or updates
- Approve decisions
- Monitor version updates and changes
3. Resolution Process
Address feedback during scheduled sessions, documenting all updates with a clear revision history.
Project Timeline Creation
Once documentation and reviews are complete, turn workshop insights into a detailed project timeline. Build an actionable schedule using the following structure:
| Phase | Deliverables | Duration | Dependencies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery | Site map, content inventory | 2-3 weeks | Stakeholder approval |
| Design | Wireframes, style guide | 4-6 weeks | Content strategy |
| Development | Core functionality, CMS setup | 8-12 weeks | Design approval |
| Testing | QA, user testing | 2-3 weeks | Development completion |
| Launch | Site deployment, training | 1-2 weeks | Testing sign-off |
For each phase:
- Set achievable milestones.
- Incorporate review cycles and allow extra time for unexpected issues.
- Define clear acceptance criteria to ensure alignment.
Workshop Tools Guide
Digital Workshop Platforms
MOCA uses Mural as its go-to platform for digital collaboration. This tool allows teams to work together in real time, no matter where they are. It includes features like interactive whiteboards, timers, private modes, voting tools, rich media integration, and advanced diagram options. Impressively, over 95% of Fortune 100 companies rely on Mural for their sessions. Plus, it adheres to GDPR and CCPA standards, ensuring your data stays secure during discussions.
Workshop Templates
Mural also comes with templates designed to streamline idea generation and organise conversations. These templates are ideal for activities like brainstorming, mind mapping, creating process flowcharts, and mapping user journeys. They align perfectly with the structured workflows discussed in later sections.
Summary
Successful web development projects often begin with effective website workshops. MOCA’s process focuses on aligning stakeholders and defining clear goals to achieve measurable business results. By using structured digital collaboration and targeted planning, these workshops consistently produce actionable insights for custom web development.
MOCA’s method involves a deep dive into audience behavior, buying cycles, and market trends. This analysis helps create websites that directly impact sales and ROI.
Their approach centers around three key steps:
- Strategic Preparation: Selecting the right stakeholders and setting clear expectations ahead of time ensures productive workshops. Sharing objectives and prompts in advance encourages better collaboration.
- Digital Collaboration: Using digital tools for real-time interaction and idea sharing fosters an inclusive and engaging environment, especially for remote teams.
- Structured Follow-Through: After the workshop, activities like detailed site mapping, project scheduling, and budget planning transform insights into actionable deliverables.
"When you onboard clients properly, the rest of the relationship goes a lot smoother." - Heather Physioc, Group Director of Discoverability at VMLY&R
This quote highlights the value of strong client onboarding in ensuring workshop success.
MOCA also prioritises ongoing measurement and review throughout the project. By keeping business goals and stakeholder input at the forefront, they build a solid foundation for web development projects.
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