Start with a shared picture of the work

Fictional example: Northstar Services is planning a customer-onboarding handoff involving Sales Operations, Implementation, and Customer Support. Use this 60-minute session to agree what success means, who contributes, which assumptions need testing, and what the team must decide first.

Colleagues around a whiteboard covered in sticky notes

A focused 60-minute agenda

Capture the outputs in the workshop's agreed notes; this page does not record or approve decisions.

Time Activity Output to capture
0–5 min Set the purpose and boundaries One-sentence purpose; in-scope and out-of-scope items
5–17 min Agree the outcomes Two or three observable outcomes and how the team will recognize them
17–27 min Clarify roles and handoffs Roles for contribution, coordination, and decisions; key handoffs
27–39 min Surface assumptions Assumptions, available evidence, and a responsible role for each follow-up
39–52 min Make first decisions Decisions made, open questions, and who will take each question forward
52–60 min Read back and close Summary of outcomes, responsibilities, open questions, and next checkpoints

Prompts that turn discussion into useful outcomes

Capture specific answers in the workshop notes. If the group cannot answer a prompt, record it as an open question with a responsible role and a next step.

Outcomes — What will be different when this work is complete?

Ask for observable results rather than a broad activity. Northstar's example: “A new customer can move from signed agreement to a scheduled implementation handoff using one agreed information set.”

Roles — Who contributes, coordinates, and decides?

Name roles and boundaries. In the example, Sales Operations provides the signed-agreement information, Implementation coordinates the handoff, and Customer Support identifies the information needed for support readiness. The project sponsor resolves scope trade-offs; the project lead coordinates follow-through.

Assumptions — What are we treating as true without evidence yet?

Ask what must be true for the intended outcome to work, what evidence is available, and which role will check gaps. Example assumption: the three teams can use the same minimum customer information set. Record how the team will test that assumption rather than treating it as confirmed.

First decisions — What must be settled before the next phase?

Separate a decision from an unresolved question. Worked example: the group agrees to use one shared minimum information set for the handoff—a confirmed decision. Whether every customer segment needs the same additional fields remains open; the project lead will bring a segment comparison to the next sponsor check-in.

Read-back — Can each participant describe the next handoff the same way?

Ask one representative from each function to summarize the outcome, their role, and the next unresolved question. Correct different interpretations before closing the session.

Close with a clear record

Before the group leaves, read back the agreed outcomes and the roles responsible for contribution, coordination, and decisions. List each assumption that still needs evidence and each open question with a responsible role and a next checkpoint.

Escalation: If participants cannot agree on scope, decision authority, or a material assumption, capture the differing views and ask the project sponsor to resolve the point before the affected work proceeds. The project lead coordinates the follow-up; the sponsor is the decision handoff in this illustrative example.

Terms: An outcome is an observable result; an assumption is something treated as true but not yet verified; a decision is an agreement the group can state; an open question is an unresolved point that needs an owner and a next step.