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	Facilitating Productive JAD Sessions
	Facilitating Productive JAD Sessions

Course Outline and Objectives
Course Philosophy and Approach
Public Class Schedule

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	3 days

The target audience consists of systems analysts, business analysts, systems designers, project managers, business managers and end users who are interested in expediting the process of defining, developing and delivering high-quality information technology solutions.

Our instructors have extensive experience in applying these techniques on projects with business experts from a wide variety of fields.

JI Introduction and Expectations
JM Methodologies and Acceleration
JP Preparing for a JAD Session
JF Managing the Working Session
JD Managing the Deliverables
JT Profile of a JAD Facilitation Team
JX Dealing with Difficulty
JC Closing the Working Session
JV Simulated Session with Videotaping (optional)

A key factor of successful JAD's (Joint Application Development) and similar approaches is the ability of the facilitator and session analyst to work as a team. This seminar gives you tools, techniques and tricks to help you with facilitation (the people dimension) and capturing the results (the task dimension). The course assumes you are intimately familiar with the analysis techniques that you will be using and provides a self-assessment instrument to appraise your technical skills. The optional videotaping session allows participants to get a much more realistic sense of what JAD facilitation is really all about.

Well-Trained Facilitation Teams

	ensure that your Joint Applications Development (JAD) sessions are professionally conducted
	help the project team work smoothly and efficiently
	increase the productivity of the facilitation team and the entire JAD process
	minimize monopolization of early project discussions by strong-willed participants
	deliver professional results better, faster, cheaper than conventional meetings


	Making Accelerated Sessions Work

	JAD (Joint Application Development) is not new but is still the best alternative to letting technology dictate what business users need and want. Like any other approach offering significant advantages, there is an associated price. This seminar presents tools, techniques and insights that are based on the collective experiences of many successful JAD facilitation teams. These concepts serve as a basis for your efforts to improve a process in dire need of improvement. They will shorten the time to complete the crucial early project phases while increasing the quality of the deliverables.

printer friendly syllabus

Course Outline and Objectives

Introduction and Expectations
Module JI : Duration ~ 1 hour


	Decreasing time and cost to deliver information technology that the business community can use has been the goal of the information industry since it was born. Joint Application Development (JAD) is a powerful option if your situation is right. Given the state-of-the-art, how can this consensus-building approach help your project and your organization?

		Why Do Technology Projects (Still) Take So Long?
		The Promises of Accelerated Techniques
		What Are the Risks of Acceleration?

		Explain the Difference Between Accelerated Methods and Other Approaches
		Discuss the Need For and Advantages of Accelerating Early Project Phases
		Recognize the Major Risks of Accelerating the System Development Process

Methodologies and Acceleration
Module JM : Duration ~ 2 hours


	Doing something faster only makes sense if you know what you are doing - and why. Methodologies, in spite of any potential shortcomings, offer a set of activities and/or deliverables that you can use as a basis for a plan. A methodology by itself will not make your project succeed, but ignoring it can be expensive.

		Methodologies: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly?
		From Activities To Results
		Selecting the Right Approach For Your Project
		Critical Success Factors For Successful JAD Sessions

		Understand the Role of Methodologies in Acceleration
		Use a Methodology To Prepare an Accelerated Session
		Identify Project Types That Are Suitable JAD Candidates

Preparing for a JAD Session
Module JP : Duration ~ 3 hours


	Without a good recipe, every meal is an adventure. Without proper preparation, every JAD is a disaster waiting to happen. From the time the JAD option is considered until the working session starts, there are many things you can do to improve the probability of a successful and productive JAD session.

		The Pre-Session Meeting
		Participant Pre-Work and Training
		JAD Session Participant Selection
		Scheduling Techniques

		Discuss the Importance and Critical Success Nature of Pre-Sessions
		Be Able To Organize and Schedule an Accelerated Session
		Adapt a Checklist of Pre-Session Activities

Managing the Working Session
Module JF : Duration ~ 3 hours


	JAD facilitation is the art of letting a cross-functional group of participants realize their productive potential for solving a predetermined problem. The facilitator needs to have a good balance of people skills and technical skills to be effective in achieving the best result the group is capable of delivering.

		The Facilitation Challenge
		Starting On the Right Foot
		Momentum Maintained
		Technically Rewarding

		Get a Session Started On the Right Foot and Maintain the Momentum
		Manage a Creative Cross-Functional Group Consensus-Building Process
		Generate and Sustain a Productive Session Environment

Managing the Deliverables
Module JD : Duration ~ 3 hours


	The visible deliverables of the JAD session are the primary reason for the session. If these documents fail to meet management's expectations, the entire session will be considered a failure. Beyond managing the session, there are a number of other critical activities someone has to address to truly deliver what the JAD promises.

		Organizing and Structuring the Deliverables
		Analysis, Review and Change Management in a JAD
		Working Documents Versus the Final Deliverable
		Solo Versus Scribe Versus Session Analyst

		Develop Effective Work Documents To Support the Session Participants
		Organize and Analyze the Visible Results of the Session
		Use the Deliverables To Maintain Session Momentum and Focus

Profile of a JAD Facilitation Team
Module JT : Duration ~ 2 hours


	Building cross-functional consensus offers the highest probability for identifying the best solution to any problem. Information technology projects typically involve a wide range of people from different walks of life. Each person represents a unique value system, thinking style, behavior and leadership style. If you ignore the people dimension, your project will fail.

		(Ideal?) Facilitator and Session Analyst Profiles
		Motivational and Thinking Styles
		Social Interaction and Leadership
		Using Profiles - Risks and Rewards

		Determine the Usability of Profiling Tools For Enhancing Communication
		Assess Their Own Strengths and Challenges Based On the Profiling Tool
		Use Other People's Preferred Mode of Communication

Dealing with Difficulty
Module JX : Duration ~ 3 hours


	In spite of your best intentions, no JAD ever runs as planned. From facilitation through to the final deliverable, there are a wide range of problems and pitfalls waiting for the unsuspecting. Experience can be your best weapon, whether it is your experience or someone else's.

		Dealing with People Problems
		The Scope Monster
		Dealing with Reality
		Managing Uncertainty

		Recognizing When Things Are Going Awry
		Develop Contingency Plans For Dealing with Unpleasant Situations
		Be Prepared For the Unexpected

Closing the Working Session
Module JC : Duration ~ 1 hour


	Bringing the working session to a satisfactory completion is an opportunity to instill a sense of accomplishment and anticipation in all attendees. Accomplishment comes from a job well done; anticipation from the group's realistic expectation of what's next. Both feelings are critical measures of true success. How can you awaken these feelings in all involved?

		Open Issues, Action Items, and Possible Post-Session Reactions
		Evaluating the Session
		Document Distribution
		The Risks Revisited

		Use Open Issue, Question, and Post-Session Task Lists
		Evaluate a Session To Improve the Process
		Maintain the Project Momentum After the Session

Simulated Session with Videotaping (optional)
Module JV : Duration ~ 1 day


	Classroom settings are great for knowledge transfer of techniques that lend themselves to the presentation / demonstration / exercise mode of learning. Facilitation techniques, however, are best learned "on the job". To reduce the risk of failure in the line of fire, this one-day, optional module offers a videotaped simulation of an actual session followed by a critique and self-evaluation of your performance as JAD facilitator and/or session analyst.

		Session Preparation Exercise
		Simulated Working Session
		Participant Roles
		Personal Development Plan

		Apply the Techniques in a Simulated Situation
		Play the Role of Facilitator And/Or Session Analyst
		Observe the JAD Process From the Participants Perspective

Visit our Business System Analyst Bookstore
for books on the topics covered in this seminar.

	Methodologies ( Information Engineering , Miscellaneous , Structured System Development , System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) )
	Related Topics ( Knowledge Management , Philosophies , Request for Proposal (RFP) , Risk Management , Six Sigma , Software Reuse , Strategic Planning )
	Working in Teams ( Conducting Meetings , Facilitation , JAD , Rapid Application Development (RAD) , Miscellaneous )
	Interviewing Techniques

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