Getting Started

• Detailed discussion with technical and business managers, team leads, and staff.
• Identify the focus areas for your workshop and a clearly definable concrete outcome.
• Identify skill gaps of the team, and understand the history of the project, if any.
• Identify key technical issues, areas of concern, and the the timeline of the project.
• Understand upcoming hardware and software upgrade schedules.
• Understand what "completion" means for your project.
• Determine the time budget for the workshop, and what schedule-time may be saved by the workshop.

Planning the Workshop

• E-mail an outline strategy based on the input above to the contact person.
• Discuss the strategy with the key players in the project.
• Make changes as necessary, and finalize arrangements.

Preparation

• Update materials to reflect the latest versions of the subject area.
• Create new materials as needed, based on current versions, and practice.
• Prepare exercises based on making concrete progress in your project.
• Develop a detailed workshop schedule.
• Make materials available for the workshop members.

Delivery

• Arrival and final preparations on the day before the workshop.
• Follow the workshop plan, but modify as necessary, to meet the goals of the project, and the needs of the participants.
  
• Keep the group engaged and reinforce learning by mixing theory with hands-on sessions.
• Daily calibration of progress and planning for next day.

Requirements

• Sufficient space for the team members, whiteboard, screen, sufficient laptop/desktop computers for the team. Or shared.
• Beamer is strongly recommended.
• Functioning Internet, preferably wifi, and with provision for instructor to connect. (Security arrangements? Need MAC address?)

Optional

• Access to a test network can be very useful for administration oriented workshops
• Content can be licensed to become part of an operations manual. 
  
• Topia Systems can assist you to customize and enhance the workshop notes into a complete operations manual.