10 critical success factors for Using Open Space Technology

[Birgitt Williams]

Dear friends,

I have sent this out before, quite a while ago however, I notice many new
names on the list so am sending it again. It is a list compiled by Diane
Blair at Bank of Montreal that she did for use in corporations for bringing
OST in. Very thorough. Very corporate. You might find it useful. Diane gave
me permission to share it with fellow open space colleagues.

Birgitt

10 CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS for Using Open Space Technology:

(Developed by Diane Blair, Manager of Meta Learning, Bank of Montreal,
Institute for Learning. Diane developed this for circulation at the Bank,
where Open Space Technology has been used both at senior levels and across
entire divisions. Diane has put this together with a large organization in
mind. As well as her role at the Bank, Diane is an active member of the Open
Space Institute of Canada. Diane can be reached at dblair at ifl.bmo.ca)

  a.. OUTCOMES: Do you have pre-set outcomes for your meeting?
  If you already have an agenda that must be addressed or an issue with a
solution already in mind, Open Space is not the approach to use; choose a
structured process that will best get you to those goals. Open Space is an
opportunity to get at what’s really important about a particular topic for
those who are already "passionate" about it and are committed to doing
something about it.

  * An Open Space meeting should declare issues and opportunities and should
NOT pre-determine outcomes.

  * Choose only the topic and create the "space". Let the participants
create the outcomes.


  b.. PARTICIPANTS: Is the invitation "Open"?
Traditional meetings tend to focus on transferring knowledge: they begin by
teaching content, usually by educating participants about a particular
vision and understanding the rationale behind it, then motivating them to
help make it happen. Open Space meetings focus on leveraging knowledge: they
begin with what people are already "passionate" about and provide space to
capture the passion and take responsibility for doing something about it.
The effectiveness of Open Space depends on engaging the right people: an
Open Space invitation is open to anyone who has a passion about the issue
and challenges them to take responsibility by sharing that passion.

Hint: Avoid limiting your invitation list by position or role, invite the
right community of interest for the topic.

  a.. The invitation should include a brief explanation of the issue; the
question that will be addressed; a clear message that the meeting is only
for individuals who have a passion about this issue and a willingness to
take responsibility. (Note: you can still set a limit on the total number of
participants, in fact, this often heightens the enthusiasm and commitment to
attend.)
  a.. EXPECTATIONS: How focused is your issue? How much time can be
allocated?
a) The more focused the question or topic the more tangible the outcomes. A
broad topic, such as "What are the challenges and opportunities to enhance
our productivity" will attract a very broad collection of issues and could
take several days of discussions before common understandings begin to
emerge. Where as, a more focused question, such as, "What are the challenges
and opportunities to enhance customer service scores of our flagship in the
next 12 months" will attract a much more specific audience and a more
specific set of concerns.

* If the intent is simply a sharing meeting or "idea gathering," the topic
question can be very broad in scope;

* If more specific solutions are desired, make the topic question more
focused and allow more time to come to a deeper understanding and to develop
solutions.

b) The longer the Open Space the greater the discussion and more focused the
resolutions. Open Space is a learning process. Discovering, reflecting and
resolving issues needs time. The general rule is: one day of Open Space
produces good conversation; two days, common understanding and three days
provides tangible results such as issue resolution, emerging leadership and
action planning. However, to some degree, groups can achieve more tangible
results in less time by focusing on a more specific topic and ensuring the
stakeholders or hosts of the Open Space are well prepared (see
Stakeholders).

Hints:

  a.. Plan on the appropriate number of days to match your expectations for
results.
  a.. When time is short, narrow the scope of your topic to match the
outcomes you expect OR break the issue into several meetings and tackle it
in stages. (E.g. The first stage could be a small Open Space for the leaders
or champions of the issue. The "Small Space" could focus on the issue with
respect to the challenges and opportunities for leadership)
4. THE "RIGHT" QUESTION: How well does your topic match your target
audience?

It clearly doesn’t make much sense to bring people from all over the Bank to
discuss how to improve customer service scores for one flagship in Alberta.
Similarly, it would be just as inappropriate to invite only sales
representatives to address how to improve product-to-market time for the
Bank’s new financial products. Successful Open Space meetings tailor the
topic to the target audience OR engage the right audience for the topic.

*Ensure you include any group that may have a potential interest in your
topic OR

*Size the issue to suit the audience you are serving.

5. STAKEHOLDERS: Who are the leaders and are they prepared to lead
differently?

If Open Space is to be more than a "brainstorming" session, participants
must have the "space" to take responsibility for the issues they are
passionate about both during open space and after. In any organization, most
issues will involve more than one stakeholder group. Each of these
stakeholders has its own leaders and change agents that play key roles in
getting things done. Tapping the potential of all participants in an Open
Space cannot be achieved with out leaders who both understand the issues and
are committed to using an Open Space approach to address them. The messages
leaders send about the issue and the process can greatly support or inhibit
Open Space results, even when they say nothing at all! A successful Open
Space has leaders who are able to create the space for shared leadership to
emerge (out of passion + responsibility), recognize it and support it.
Successful Open Space leaders not only agree to Open Space as a meeting
process, they are committed to the topic and to resolving it as a shared
responsibility, including giving up control of the agenda to get there!

  a.. Prepare Stakeholders by involving them in a small Open Space to plan
future Open Spaces
  a.. Ensure you have the understanding and commitment of each leader with
an interest in the issue and its outcomes. Reinforce this commitment in all
your communications.
  a.. Name each of the stakeholders on the invitation as hosts for the Open
Space.
  a.. Have stakeholders set parameters around the issue (see Parameters)
6. CRITICAL MASS: Do you have enough "critical mass" for this issue to move
forward?

While it is possible, its a lot tougher and a lot slower for one person to
go back to work as the only supporter of a new idea or approach to a
problem. When two people work in the same area, or can impact different
aspects of the same division or department, they can not only support each
other better, they are more likely to create a ripple effect that’s large
enough for others to notice.

* Focus the open space target audience so that participants are more likely
to establish connections they can draw on after the Open Space.

7. PARAMETERS: What are the parameters for your issue?

Despite popular opinion, having "no parameters" around an issue does not
necessarily mean more freedom. In fact, Open Space parameters are not
limitations at all; they can be the key to unlocking some of the old
barriers that keep people from taking responsibility for their good ideas.
Setting parameters is a very tangible way for the leadership to reinforce
their support for an issue and their confidence in their staff in resolving
it.

*Some parameters to consider....

Budget - any project within $X

Schedule - any project within Y time

Structure -any project within the domain of the division, /region,
/department)

Bus. Plan -any project within the vision, mission, and objectives

- or, supports our current business plan priorities

Other... -commitment to discuss any proposal for this issue outside these

8. SUPPORT: How can I best support what can happen next?

Open Space invariably produces innovations that don’t always fit with the
current way of doing things. How can I best create the "space" for
participants to move forward with their issues in the daily work? Consider:

  a.. Identifying Mentors?
  a.. Adopt an executive?
  a.. Other open space forums? Or mini-forums?
  a.. Adopting open space principles in regular meetings
  a.. Building outcomes into personal and business plans
  a.. COMMUNICATION: Keep up the communication.
In Open Space, even though the meeting comes to an end the issues continue
to evolve. The on-going learning and discovery are important benefits that
need to be nurtured.

  a.. Create opportunities for sharing stories and discussing new issues and
concerns.
  a.. There is no one answer to the most appropriate way to keep the
learning alive. Any approach is best supported by helping key leaders
understand the importance of encouraging ongoing, informal links and being
prepared to support opportunities as they emerge.
  a.. ASSESSMENT: Be prepared to be surprised.
By having the freedom and capacity to think about issues differently and
work differently, opportunities will emerge in different ways and at
different times. Some issues will take shape and be ready to happen right
away, others may percolate for even a year or two before taking shape. Still
others may never take a concrete form but will impact the way groups begin
to think and work together in many ways. The impact of Open Space is best
measured with a long-term approach that can take into account the on-going
learning and activity generated by the Open Space.

*Create a means of assessing where your ideas and new competencies are
coming from. How can you increase these opportunities? Can open space
techniques help in other ways?

Other Helpful hints...

Preparing Stakeholders:

If Open Space is new to the audience, it is important to prepare them to be
successful. Hold a Small Open Space to introduce the technology and to help
the stakeholders discover how they can best provide support. Focus the small
space on the role of leadership in moving forward with the issue.

Participation:

When possible, all stakeholders should actively participate in the Open
Space meeting. Open Space is a much more powerful learning tool and change
agent when it is truly a "round-table" meeting where the whole community is
represented and all idea and concerns are valued equally.

Facilitation:

If you are a stakeholder you should plan on participating in the open space
rather than facilitating. It is generally advantageous to have an objective
facilitator so you can focus on the issue and they can focus entirely on the
process and on coaching the stakeholders without bias.

Note: above section reproduced with permission, Diane Blair, Bank of
Montreal, 1997



Birgitt Williams
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