The document provides guidance on facilitating a visioning session, including a sample agenda, the importance of having a vision, characteristics of an effective vision, examples of visions, and tips for facilitating the session. The agenda includes discussing why a vision is needed, characteristics of good visions, inspirations, and using a brainwriting technique to have participants develop a draft vision statement in teams before combining into one version. The facilitator should thank participants and define next steps for finalizing the vision.

1. Jolly Rajan
Agile Coach
Facilitate a Visioning Session

2. Contents
1.Sample Agenda
2.Power of a Vision
3.Facilitating the Session

3. Sample Agenda
1.Vision, Why?
2.Characteristics
3.Food for thought!
4.Let’s create our vision
5.Close

4. Why do we need a Vision
Authoritarian Decree
Micro Management
Vision
Forces That Support Status Quo
Leading Change JohnP. Kotter 1996

5. Characteristics of an Effective Vision
Imaginable
Desirable
Feasible
Focused
Flexible
Communicable
Leading Change JohnP. Kotter 1996

6. Emphasize the importance of open and honest communication.
Reinforce that the comments made during the session belong to the team.
Provide the team with Inspirations derived from interviews with key individuals (if possible).
Give some examples of Visions created by other Agile Transformation Teams.
Set the Stage
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7. Faster delivery
Higher quality
Sell more bananas
Shorten delivery cycle
Improvement in customer experience
Deliver what the customer wanted
Stop rushing
Inspirations
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Dedicated team
Meet customer expectations
Build something cool
Meet what we want
Improve time to market
Collaborative prioritization
Release must not be an event

8. ABC’s innovative IT organization strengthens ABC’s business by delivering high value products with quality and velocity to exceed the expectations of the business better than anybody else.
We are a continuously improving, single team delivering awesome digital experiences that ensure XYZ company is the ONLY place to buy bananas.
Examples
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9. Brainstorming vs Brainwriting
https://www.uco.edu/academic-affairs/cqi/files/docs/facilitator_tools/brainhan.pdf
Brainstorming sessions tend to be dominated by a few individuals
Better ideas may be held back
Brainwriting methods are designed to encourage more uniform participation
Enables all group members to think without any blocking

10. Split into teams of 2 members each.
Give the teams 10 minutes to come up with the first versions.
Repeat this process by combining the teams to have 4, 8 members until there is one version of the Vision.
Remind participants that may not be the final version and will be refined via email.
Twist on Brainwriting
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11. Thank the team for attending.
Take a photo of the white board (if used).
Capture the candidate Vision statement electronically.
Make it clear that there will be opportunities to fine tune the Vision statement.
Identify who owns the Action Item to gather feedback and finalize Vision.
Assign due date to the Action Item.
Close the session.
Close
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