Setting up the space

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We have run two-week inceptions from a single hotel conference room. Cabin fever anyone? Trust us, you want to arrange a nice space for an inception if you can.

Some extra things to consider:

• You want good wifi,and a functioning projector you can connect to.

• You want people to be able to sit, stand, and move around, with the possibility to break out as and when discussions need a bit of divergence.

• You will want wall space, as much as possible. Space to draw and illustrate and take notes.

• Set up dedicated wall space sections to log risks, assumptions and dependencies, plus a ‘parking lot’ where you can capture ideas for later discussion. Separate whiteboards or flipcharts can work well for this.

Pro tips

Consider the location in terms of convenience of travel, plus taking people out of their natural habitat to avoid bias and distraction.

Be early, and allow for some faff before you get going. Checking in and getting set up on wifi can take longer than you think. As can writing up the agenda and rules.

Where you have no big whiteboard, create one with Magic Whiteboard. Generally speaking, you’ll want at least 2sqm of free scribbling space.

Get good dynamics by mixing up the seating arrangement: a good mix of suppliers and clients around the room, with a different order every day.

Avoid too many room changes during the day – and arrange to be able to leave things in the room overnight.

Consider that early on you’re likely to have more participants in the one place, before moving to more focused workshops (that often run in parallel with smaller subgroups).