teaching

Facilitating Cost Reduction and Cost Avoidance Workshops

course overview

This intensive course introduces the student to the methods of facilitating cost reduction and cost avoidance workshops. The material is divided into the 4 main topics of (1) theory, (2) the two principle areas of application, (3) session design and (4) practice.

Upon completing the course, the students will be ready to apply these exciting and invaluable techniques to the financial success of their own organization.

Course Objectives

• Defining facilitation, its theoretical underpinnings, and Product Life Cycle Management
• Distinguishing between Cost Reduction and Cost Avoidance
• Establishing the scope of a workshop and the prerequisites for its success
• Designing workshop flow and anticipating contingencies
• Practicing how to deliver a workshop and how to spontaneously redesign the session, in mid-flow, should the need arise
• Having a great time

learning experience

Your learning experience with this ‘Too Serious' course is designed to deliver to you a high level of interactivity and personal challenge. You will experience a richness and depth in every aspect of this engaging and practical topic. You will not be presented with static theoretical ideas, rather you will be expected to engage, decide, design, extend your skills and apply the concepts to which you will be exposed.

Course Curriculum

Defining facilitation, its theoretical underpinnings, and its relationship to product development

• define the difference between "meeting management" and "facilitation"
• define messy problems like large scale product development
• explore the components of messy problems and their consequences to design issues
• develop an appreciation for the psychological aspects of human functioning and sense making
• extend the psychological aspects to group work and concurrent design

Distinguishing between Cost Reduction and Cost Avoidance

• define product Life Cycle and the Generic Design Process
• appreciate roles and responsibilities throughout a product's life
• audit attracted life cycle cost centres
• shorten a design interval using practical techniques

Establishing the scope of a workshop and the prerequisites for its success

• define the roles of broker, client and stakeholder
• choose an appropriate product
• examine the product's market position, vulnerabilities, competitors, buying criteria and evolution path
• explore the outcome of the session
• select an appropriate workshop model
• interactively modify the workshop model to produce a session design
• invite appropriate senior management and define their roles
• set appropriate prework
• clarify meeting logistics and documentation support

Designing workshop flow and anticipating contingencies

• appreciate the Open Space problem-solving method – strengths and weaknesses
• define ‘pods' or thinking areas suitable to the product's workshop outcome
• decide on the equipment samples to be used in the session if available
• learn two suitable methods of idea generation and creativity
• learn three methods of idea shaping and management
• build a suitable system model for the product cost drivers
• select the best of the ideas generated using simple criteria
• choose an appropriate action planning format
• apply the principles of double loop learning to session design
• learn how to ‘block out' suitable chunks of time to achieve subordinate outcomes
• appreciate the landmines in this type of session

Practicing how to deliver a workshop and how to spontaneously redesign the session, in mid-flow, should the need arise

• appreciate the workshop session as theatre
• set up a technical audience with an icebreaker
• understand the do's and don'ts of presenting to a technical audience
• keep track of time and sensitively redirect unproductive group rathole chatter
• determine when to use voting technology
• master two handy templates to facilitate sub-group work
• show sub-groups how to present their work
• redesign the session ‘in the moment' as needed
• handle personal fear in a time of crisis
• wrap up the session and recognize the productive work done
• post session audit follow-up with the broker

Having a great time

• learn to relax
• enjoy the experience
• put your workshop audiences at ease through the use of humour and story telling

course logistics

For more information or to book Dr. Saunders to teach for your organization, please contact us.